This  Anti-Secrecy  Library  Is  donated 
hy  the  National  Christian  Association,  on  the 
assurance,  given  on  the  part  of  the  College, 
that  the  books  should  have  a  good  position 
and  be  accessible  to  the  students. 

If  at  any  time  changes  should  occur,  so  that 
these  provisions  could  not  be  carried  out, 
please  notify  the  National  Christian  Associ- 
ation, 221  West  Madison  Street,  Chicago,  111., 
that  measures  may  be  taken  for  their  return. 


I.I 


\JX>      i   II  I  . 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 

M^^ 


MAR  .28  .1894 ,  189 


,  jras  - ,  -  -^' ^  "SOT"        ^^  s 


V.' 


K^^L,^ 


HOLDEN  WITH  CORDS 


fW   TUJ?  QflPRflT 

Ur      1  GJMLl 


A  FAITHFUL  REPRESENTATION  IN  STORY  OF  THE  EVIL  INFLUENCE  OF 


FREEMASONRY 


FLAGO, 

Author  of  "Little  People"  "A  Sunny  Life"  Etc, 


CHICAGO,  ILLINOIS, 

EZRA  A.  COOK,  PUBLISHER, 

1883. 


*  Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress  In  the  year  1883, 

BY  EZRA  A.  COOK, 
In  the  office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress  at  Washington,  D.  C. 


.  PUBLISHER'S  PREFACE. 

The  educating  influence  of  stories — both  for  good 
and  evil — is  everywhere  recognized.  The  vile  anecdotes 
of  the  bar-room  and  saloon  debauch  the  conscience 
worse  than  the  liquor  they  drink  does  their  bodies. 
•  It  is  notorious  that  it  is  neither  the  most  eloquent  or 
worthy  politician,  but  he  who  can  give  the  most  sensa- 
tional illustrations,  that  stands  the  best  chance  of  elec- 
tion. 

The  popular  legends  and  fables  of  a  nation  indicate 
and  largely  determine  the  character  of  the  people. 

Masonic  writers  have  not  been  backward  in  the  use 
of  legends  and  narratives  to  bolster  up  that  institution. 

Albert  G.  Mackey,  the  most  influential  and  extensive 
Masonic  writer  of  this  country  is  the  author  of  a  book 
entitled  "  THE  MYSTIC  TIE,  or  Facts  and  Opinions 
Illustrative  of  the  Character  and  Tendency  of  Freema- 
sonry." Of  course  the  object  of  the  work  is  to  show 
by  what  Masonry  has  done  for  men,  its  practical  value, 
and  such  chapter  headings  as  u  Freemasonry  Among 
Pirates,"  "Masonic  Courtesy  in  War"  and  uThe  Soldier 
Mason,"  show  the  object  of  the  author.  Such  stories 
have  doubtless  led  many  to  join  the  order,  that  by  its 
mystic  power  they  might  be  safe  among  pirates  and 
other  outlaws,  little  thinking  they  were  at  the  same 
time  obligating  themselves  to  shield  these  outlaws  from 
deserved  punishment. 


4  PREFACE. 

But  the  power  for  good  of  narrations  illustrative  of 
God's  dealing  with  individuals  affd  nations  must  not  be 
overlooked,  for  this  forms  a  large  portion  of  God's 
Word,  and  Christ  himself  employed  narratives  and 
parables  with  great  power  in  his  teachings. 

Bunyan's  beautiful  allegories  have  shown  many  the 
blessedness  of  u  walking  with  God,'1  and  the  influence 
of  "  Uncle  Tom's  Cabin  "  in  showing  the  people  the 
abominations  of  human  slavery  can  scarcely  be  over- 
estimated, because  it  was  a  true  picture  of  that  iniqui- 
tous system.  Like  the  volume  before  the  reader  it  was 
a  recital  of  facts,  with  but  enough  of  the  garb  of  fiction 
for  a  covering. 

For  ample  proof  of  the  accuracy  of  the  sketch 
of  the  abduction  and  murder  of  Wm.  Morgan  and 
the  trials  that  followed,  the  reader  is  referred  to 
the  "  Broken  Seal,"  by  Samuel  D.  Greene,  and  to 
the  "History  of  the  Abduction  of  Capt.  Wm.  Mor- 
gan," prepared  by  seven  committes  of  leading  citizens 
of  the  Empire  State.  And  for  the  story  of  Mary 
Lyman's  wrongs  the  pamphlet  entitled  "Judge  Whit- 
ney's Defense,'1  furnishes  ample  material.  All  of  these 
may  be  had  in  pamphlet  form  by  addressing  the  pub- 
lisher of  this  work. 

After  reading  the  aforesaid  pamphlets  the  reader  will 
certainly  be  ready  to  exclaim,  "  Surely  facts  are  stranger 
than  fiction,"  and  will  be  able  better  to  see  how  the 
thousands  of  our  land  can  be  thus  HOLDER  WITH  COBDS 
of  secret  iniquity.  THE  PUBLISHER. 


OTITS 
•"-•' 


CONTENTS, 

CHAPTER.  PAGE. 

I.     MY  GRANDFATHER'S  ADVICE 11 

Mackey  Asserts  that  Masonry  is  a  '  'Religious  Institution, "  Note  1 . .  12 

Chase  .-ays  "Masonry  has  nothing  whatever  to  do  with  the  Bible."..  12 

Morris  tells  the  "Allurements"  of  the  Lodge,  Note  3 12 

"Masonry  unites  men  of  every  country,  sect  and  opinion,  Note  4..  12 

Grandfather's  Masonic  Experience  in  a  French  Prison 13 

"  Secrecy  has  a  mystic  binding  almost  supernatural  force,"  Note  5..  14 

II.     THE  "COMMON  AND  PROFANE"  DISCUSSING  FREEMASONRY 19 

III.     A  MYSTERIOUS  BOOK — CHAMBERS  OF  IMAGERY 25 

Initiation '  'a  death  to  the  World  and  a  resurrection  to  a  new  llf  e"Note  6  29 

Mackey  Hints  at  the  Stripping  for  Initation,  Note  7 29 

Taking  the  Entered  Apprentice  Oath 30 

"The  importance  of  secret  keeping, ''  Note  8 31 

"The  shock  of  enlightenment, "  Note  9 32 

'  'The  social  hour  at  high  XII, "    Note  10 33 

IV.  A  TALK  WITH  MY  GRANDFATHER .- 34 

4  'This  surrender  of  free-will  to  Masonic  authority  is  absolute^Note  11  34 

"Masonry  is  a  religious  institution, "  Note  12 35 

"The dignity  of  the  institution  depends  mainly  up  >n  its  age,"  Note  13  36 

V.  PREPARATION  FOR  A  JOURNEY — PASSED  AND  RAISED." 38 

"It  isthe  obligation  which  makes  the  Mason, "  Note  14 38 

'  'Entered  Apprentices  are  possessed  of  very  few  rights, "  Note  15  ..  45 

VI.  AN  EVENING  WITH  RACHEL 47 

"Do  you  suppose  the  Good  Samaritan  was  a  Freemason?" 49 

VII.  A  CERTAIN  MAN  WENT  DOWN  FROM  JERICHO 53 

' '  A  violent  blow  on  the  head  that  knocked  me  senseless  from  the 

saddle" 59 

' '  The  horseman  had  flung  himself  off  and  was  listening  to  my  tale  "  57 

' '  Don't  go  to  maddening  me  with  any  of  your  grips  and   signs  " . . . .  59 

VIII.    MRS.  HAGAN'S  OPINION  OF  ELDER  GUSHING 60 

' '  Honest  Ben  Hagan  " •. 61 

IX.  MR.  HAGAN  T^LLS  WHAT  HE  KNOWS  ABOUT  MASONRY 67 

"Placing  a  drawn  sword  across  the  throat,"  Note  IB 72 

Treason  and  Rebellion  not  Masonic  Offences,  Note  17 7ii 

4  'I  promised  to  help  a  companion  in  any  difficulty,  right  or  wrong" . .  74 

X.  A  MASONIC  MURDER — SUCCESS  AND  RETURN  HOME 76 

XI.  MORE   TALK  WITH  MY  GRANDFATHER— A  MODERN  PAN. — 87 


6  COHTEBTTS. 

CHAPTEB.                                                                                                           PAGE. 
XII    A  FEW  MASONIC  PUZZLES 98 

XIII.  MASONIC  BONDAGE. — SAM  TOLLER'S  AFFAIBS, 107 

XIV.  A  DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE— NOT  OF  '76.— SAM  TOLLER 

MISSING 115 

XV.  THE  SPRING  OF  1826. — SAM   TOLLER. — "COMING  EVENTS  CAST 

THEIR  SHADOWS  BEFORE" 126 

XVI.  AN  ADHERING  FREEMASON  INCAPABLE  OF  ENTIRE  LOYALTY  TO 

HIS  WIFE. — A  LODGE  QUARREL. — JACHIN  AND  BOAZ 134 

XVII    LUKE  THATCHER.— KUMORS.— MASONRY  IN  ITS  KELIGIOUS  AS- 
PECTS   , 144 

XVIII.  THE  GATHERING  STORM 152 

XIX.  A  NIGHT  IN  BATAYIA 162 

XX    AN  EXCITING  SCENE 176 

XXI.  THE  MYSTERIOUS  CARRIAGE 187 

XXII.  MARK  EELATES  HIS  MASONIC  EXPERIENCES 197 

' '  The  ties  of  a  Eoyal  Arch  Mason, "  Note  23 200 

"Libations  are  still  used  In  some  of  the  higher  degrees, "Note 24  200 

"That  vail  of  mystery— that  awful  secrecy, "  Note  25 200 

"The  Ancient  Freemasonry  that  was  practiced  in  the  Mysteries, " 

Note 26 ...   203 

"  The  Worshipful  Master  himself  is  a  representative  of  the  sun," 

Note  27 203 

XXIII    AN  EVENING  IN  THE  LODGE  207 

'   The  Ancient  Mysteries, "  Note  23 210 

XXIV.  FREEMASONRY'S    MASK   REMOVED  — SILENT   ANTIMASONS, — THE 
CIRCUIT   PREACHER.— RACHEL  FINDS  PEACE.— HE  GIVETH 

His  BELOVED  SLEEP 217 

XXV.  MOVING. — THE  MASONIC  OBLIGATION  REMOVED. — THE  WARFARE 

BEGINS 229 

XXVI.  THE  FALL  OF  1826. — OUR  JOURNEY. — FREEMASONRY  vs.  JUSTICE  238 

XXVII    THE  SWORD  OF  DAMOCLES 249 

XXVIII.  MASONRY  REVEALED  — SAM  TOLLER'S  MASONRY. — THE  MYSTERY 

OF  OAK  ORCHARD  CREEK » 257 

XXIX.  SUNDRY  HAPPENINGS 267 

XXX.  MASONIC  SLANDER.  —THE  ENGAGEMENT.— RATTLESNAKE  COBNEU  275 

XXXI.  NEW  SCENES  AND  OLD  FACES 286 

XXXII.  THE  MYSTERY  OF  INIQUITY 294 

XXXIII.  AUGEAN  STABLES 301 

XXXIV.  ONE  MORE  UNFORTUNATE 308 

XXXV.  MASONRY  PROTECTING  MURDERERS.— Vox  POPULI,  Vox  DEI 317 

XXXVI.  SOME  EXAMPLES  OF  MASONIC  BENEVOLENCE  AND  MORALITY 333 

XXXVII.  HISTORY  REPEATS  ITSELF 348 

"  Masonry  is  strong  enough  to  spread  its  protecting  wing  over 

the  vilest  criminal" 349 

XXXVIII.  UNDER  THE  JUNIPER  TREE 360 

XXXIX.  A  FORETASTE 369 

LX.  THK  VICTORY  OVER  THE  BEAST 376 

**  I  would  not  wish  to  enter  Heaven  with  one  honorable  scar  the 

less" 379 

•*Will  you  be  the  slaves  of  the  lodge,  HOLDER  WITH  CORDS  of 

secret  iniquity?" 884 


INTRODUCTION. 


For  clothing  fact  in  the  garb  of  fiction  the  writer 
deems  no  apology  necessary,  having  only  followed  in 
so  doing  the  universal  fashion  of  the  day;  but  in  order 
to  establish  between  author  and  reader  a  sympathetic 
understanding  from  the  outset,  it  has  seemed  both 
proper  and  needful  to  give  some  of  the  reasons  which 
lead  to  the  writing  of  this  volume. 

Once  in  their  past  history  has  God  in  His  providence 
placed  before  the  American  people  a  great  moral  issue 
that  could  be  neither  shirked,  nor  ignored,  nor  met 
half  way.  In  vain  statesmen  compromised,  in  vain 
pulpit  and  press  cried  "  peace,  peace!'1  when  there  was 
no  peace.  God  continually  sent  ''prophets  and  righteous 
men,"  who  kept  that  one  issue  sternly  before  the  pop- 
ular mind,  and  in  many  cases  sealed  the  truth  they 
spoke  with  their  blood.  The  sequel  we  all  know.  The 
question  God  had  been  asking  the  American  nation  so 
many  years  in  the  terrible,  relentless  logic  of  events, 
was  forced  upon  us  at  last  —  but  it  was  at  the  point  of 
the  sword.  Shall  the  lesson  be  in  vain? 

It  would  seem  as  if  God  intended  America  to  be  the 
great  moral  battle  field  for  the  world.  In  her  freedom 
from  priestcraft  and  kingcraft;  in  the  sacred  traditions 
that  cluster  about  her  past  and  the  bow  of  promise 
which  spans  her  future  she  occupies  a  vantage  ground 
in  such  moral  struggles  impossible  of  attainment  to  a 
people  fettered,  as  are  the  nations  of  the  Old  World, 


8       •  INTKODTJCTION. 

with  the  remnants  of  feudalism,  and  bowed  down  with 
centuries  of  oppression,  and  toil,  and  ignorance.  To 
America,  the  pole  star  of  the  world's  liberties,  their 
eyes  are  looking  with  loflf  ing  desire.  In  every  great 
question  that  agitates  us,  which  affects  the  freedom  of 
our  government  and  the  stability  of  our  institutions, 
they  have  a  vital  interest.  Shall  the  simple,  hardy, 
honest  emigrant  escaping  from  the  despotisms  of  Eu- 
rope, find  enthroned  on  our  shores  the  more  hopeless 
despotism  of  the  Secret  Empire,  with  its  Grand  Mas- 
ters and  Sir  Knights  and  Sublime  Princes,  its  Kings 
and  Prelates  and  Inquisitor  Generals,  its  secret  cliques 
and  rings  and  combinations?  This  is  one  phase  of  the 
question  which  the  sons  of  Pilgrim  and  Revolutionary 
sires  will  be  called  upon  at  no  distant  day  to  answer, 
and  whether  the  shadow  on  the  dial-plate  of  human 
freedom  is  to  go  forward  or  backward  in  the  next  gen- 
eration depends  in  no  small  degree  on  the  readiness 
with  which  they  wake  to  the  danger  and  their  right 
understanding  of  a  subject  fraught  with  such  far-reach- 
ing consequences  to  themselves  and  their  posterity. 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  the  writer  would  have  found 
in  motives  of  mere  patriotism  more  than  sufficient  ex- 
cuse for  desiring  to  embody  in  a  living  dramatic  form 
a  true  picture  of  the  Masonic  system  both  in  its  past 
history  and  its  present  revival.  From  the  Morgan 
tragedy,  unlocked  at  last  by  the  sworn  testimony  of 
that  great  Christian  statesman,  Thurlow  Weed,  to  the 
closing  scenes  of  the  book,  not  a  single  incident  of  im- 
portance has  been  introduced  which  cannot  be  easily 
veritied,  the  writer  allowing  no  artistic  considerations 
to  blunt  the  force  of  that  mightiest  of  weapons  against 
error — the  simple,  unvarnished  truth. 


INTRODUCTION.  9 

But  weighty  as  is  this  reason — and  let  the  reader 
judge  for  himself  if  indifference  to  such  facts  as  are 
here  presented  is  compatible  with  sincere  love  of  coun- 
try— another  and  even  highery^eason  was  the  primary 
force  which  first  urged  the  writing  of  these  pages. 

For  again  God  is  calling  the  American  people  to  face 
a  second  great  moral  issue,  greater  than  the  first  inas- 
much as  the  evil  we  are  now  called  upon  to  combat  is 
not  merely  local  and  sectional  but  national;  not  merely 
national  but  world-wide.  Slavery  was  a  foul  excrescence 
requiring  the  surgeon's  knife;  secretism  is  a  subtle  poi- 
son which,  if  not  speedily  erradicated  from  our  body 
politic  will  make  "  the. whole  head  sick  and  the  whole 
heart  faint."  Again  God  is  commanding,  "  Proclaim 
liberty  to  the  captives,"  for  though  slavery  exists  no 
longer  there  is  a  system  of  spiritual  bondage  in  our 
midst,  a  fettering  of  mind  and  conscience  worthy  of 
the  darkest  days  of  priestly  tyranny.  And  every 
church,  every  individual  Christian,  who  through  dread 
of  agitation,  fear  of  stirring  up  strife  or  mere  lazy  in- 
difference countenances  this  great  evil  or  refuses  to  bear 
witness  against  it,  has  the  fearful  guilt  to  answer  for  of 
forging  those  fetters  anew. 

More  than  all,  Masonry  is  a  religion,  and  as  there  can 
be  but  one  true  religion  in  the  world  any  more  than 
there  can  be  but  one  true  God,  it  follows  that  it  is  either 
a  false  religion  or  else  for  eighteen  hundred  years  the 
hopes  of  humanity  have  centered  about  a  cunningly 
devised  fable  of  a  certain  Divine  Man  who  came  on 
earth,  died  for  sinners,  and  rose  again  to  be  their  eternal 
Friend  and  Intercessor — which  was  all  quite  unneces- 
sary if  Daniel  Sickels,  a  distinguished  Masonic  writer, 
is  correct  when,  in  speaking  of  the  Master  Mason,  he 


10  INTRODUCTION. 

says:  "We  now  find  man  complete  in  morality  and 
intelligence,  with  the  stay  of  RELIGION  added,  to  insure 
him  of  the  protection  of  the  Deity  and  guard  him 
against  ever  going  astray.  These  three  degrees  thus 
form  a  perfect  and  harmonious  whole;  nor  can  we  con- 
ceive that  anything  can  be  suggested  more  which  the 
soul  of  man  requires."— SickeTs  Monitor,  p.  97.  Be- 
lieving devoutly  "  in  one  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ 
of  whom  the  whole  family  in  Heaven  and  earth  is 
named,"  the  writer  felt  called  of  God  to  show  the  anti- 
Christian  character  of  the  Masonic  system,  but  at  the 
same  time  it  is  hoped  that  the  reader  will  recognize  in 
the  portraits  of  Leander's  grandfather  and  Anson 
Lovejoy  a  desire  to  do  justice  to  the  many  good  men 
wrho  have  been  and  still  are  caught  in  the  snare  of  the 
lodge.  In  truth,  throughout  the  writing  of  this  vol- 
ume two  classes  have  been  kept  continually  in  view  as 
especially  needing  enlightenment — Masons  and  non- 
Masons;  the  former  being  in  nine  cases  out  of  ten 
actually  the  most  ignorant  of  the  real  nature  and  de- 
signs of  the  institution  to  which  they  have  sworn  away 
their,  liberties  and  their  lives. 

These,  in  brief,  are  the  author's  reasons  for  present- 
ing this  work  to  the  public,  in  the  hope  that  many 
honest  and  candid  minds  both  in  and  out  of  the  lodge 
may  be  lead  thereby  to  a  still  fartKer  investigation  of 
its  character  and  claims. 

"For  every  one  that  doeth  evil  hateth  the  light,  neither 
cometh  to  the  light  lest  his  deeds  should  be  reproved.  But 
he  that  doeth  truth  cometh  to  the  light  that  his  deeds  may 
be  made  manifest  that  they  are  wrought  in  God." 

E.  E.  F. 


CHAPTER  I. 


HAD  just  attained  my  majority.  If 
this  sounds  like  an  abrupt  as  well 
as  egotistical  way  of  beginning  a 
story,  to  people  who  do  not  care  to 
waste  their  time  reading  long  para- 
bles, it  will  at  least  have  the  merit  of 
simplicity  and  directness,  while  as  respects 
the  second  charge  the  very  fact  just  stated  is 
sufficient  answer.  I  was  egotistical.  I  thought 
a  great  deal  more  of  myself  than  the  world  did,  or  was 
ever  likely  to. 

But,  as  I  said,  I  had  just  attained  my  majority.  My 
grandfather,  seated  taanquilly  in  his  favorite  corner, 
felt  it  incumbent  on  him  to  give  me  some  advice.  It 
was  very  good  and  excellent  advice,  of  the  same  general 
sort  that  is  always  given  to  young  people,  and  I  need 
not  repeat  it  here,  except  to  say  that  counsel  very  like 
it  may  be  found  in  certain  old-fashioned  moral  essays 
called  the  Proverbs  of  King  Solomon. 

"  Now,  Leander,"  said  my  grandfather,  laying  down 
his  pipe  for  a  final  and  solemn  winding  up,  "you  will 
be  a  useful  and  honored  man  if  you  strictly  obey  these 
rules.  It  is  like  the  law  of  gravity,  or  any  other  great 
principle  in  nature.  You  cannot  disregard  them  with- 
out suffering  the  consequences  and  making  your  friends 
suffer  with  you.  But  I  am  going  to  speak  of  something 


12  HOLDER  WITH  CORDS. 

else.  You  are  the  right  age  now  to  become  a  Freema- 
son, and  I  am  of  opinion  that  it  would  be  an  excellent 
thing.  No  one  can  be  a  good  Mason  without  a  belief  in 
God1  and  the  Bible,2  and  strict  attendance  to  his  moral 
duties,  so  that  it  developes  and  trains  a  sense  of  moral 
obligation  in  its  members  from  the  outset.  Then  there 
are,  of  course,  other  advantages,3  though  I  don't  want 
you  to  get  the  habit  of  always  looking  at  the  worldly 
side  of  everything.  We  are  immortal  souls  and  should 
remember  that  this  is  not  our  final  abiding  place.  Still, 
it  is  proper  to  use  all  right  means  for  advancement  in 
life,  and  becoming  a  Mason  will  be  a  great  help  to  you, 
Leander,  now  that  you  are  just  about  to  start  in  busi- 
ness for  yourself.  All  the  members  of  the  fraternity 
will  be,  bound  to  consider  your  success  as  their  own,  and 
should  you  ever  travel,  or  be  taken  sick  away  from 
friends,  you  have  onl}"  to  give  the  necessary  sign  and 
any  true  Mason  will  minister  to  your  wants  like  a 
brother.4  Now  I  have  a  story  to  tell  at  this  point  that 

NOTE  1.—"  The  truth  is,  that  Masonry  is  undoubtedly  a  religious  institution- 
Its  religion  being  of  that  universal  kind  in  which  all  men  agree,  and  which. 
handed  down  through  a  long  succession  of  ages  from  that  ancient  priesthood 
who  first  taught  it,  embraces  the  great  tenets  of  the  existence  of  God  and  the 
immortality  of  the  soul;  tenets  which  by  its  peculiar  symbolic  language,  it  has 
preserved  from  its  foundation,  and  still  continues  in  the  same  beautiful  way  to 
teach.  Beyond  this  for  its  religious  faith,  we  must  not  and  cannot  go." — 
Mackey's  Masonic  Jurisprudence,  page  95. 

NOTES. —  "Blue  Lodge  Masonry  has  nothing  whatever  to  do  with  the  Bible. 
It  is  not  founded  on  the  Bible;  if  it  was  it  would  not  be  Masonry;  it  would  be 
something  else." — Chase's  Digest  of  Masonic  Law,  page  207. 

NOTE  8.  —  "  The  allurements  to  unite  with  the  Masonic  fraternity  partake  of 
the  nature  of  personal  advantages.  It  were  folly  to  deny  that  while  the  appli- 
cant is  willing  to  impart  good  to  his  fellows,  he  expects  equally  to  receive 
good.'1  *  *  *  "  The  prime  advantages  derived  from  a  connection  with  Blue 
Lodge  Masonry  may  be  summed  up  under  three  heads,  viz:  relief  In  distress, 
counsel  in  difficulty,  protection  in  danger."— Morris's  Dictionary,  Art.,  Ad- 
vantages. 

NOTE  4.  —  "Masonry  unites  men  of  every  country,  sect  and  opinion." — Mor- 
ris's Dictionary;  Art.,  Brotherly  Love. 


MT  GRANDFATHER'S  ADYTCE.  13 

happened — let  us  see — over  twenty  years  ago,  and  I 
don't  know  but  as  much  as  twenty-five.  I  guess  it  was, 
for  you  wasn't  born  then,  Leander.  Well,  well, l  Life's 
an  empty  show,'  as  the  hymnbook  says." 

My  grandfather  sighed  and  took  a  pinch  of  snuff. 

I  had  heard  the  story  before  but  was  not  averse  to 
hearing  it  again.  I  am  afraid  the  idea  of  any  moral  or 
religious  benefit  to  be  gained  by  taking  the  step  he  so 
strongly  advised  did  not  impress  me  very  deeply.  Bub 
on  the  other  hand  the  idea  of  joining  a  fraternitj7,  all 
the  members  of  which  would  be  bound  to  help  me  on 
in  life,  I  did  find  especially  agreeable,  for  reasons  that 
need  not  now  be  stated. 

uAt  the  close  of  the  last  century,"  began  my  grand- 
father, "French  cruisers,  as  you  know,  were  greatly 
troubling  our  commerce.  I  was  captain  of  the  '  Martha 
Ann,'  and  the  deck  of  a  stauncher,  trimmer  vessel  I 
never  trod.  I  shipped  with  a  good  crew,  tried  and  able 
seamen;  so,  getting  all  things  together,  I  was  calculat- 
ing by  the  help  of  Providence  to  have  a  pretty  prosper- 
ous, voyage.  The  idea  of  being  captured  hardly  entered 
my  head  till  we  were  captured,  ship,  cargo,  crew  and 
all  by  a  French  frigate  that  swooped  down  on  the 
1  Martha  Ann '  like  a  hawk  on  a  chicken^  We  were 
carried  to  the  nearest  French  seaport  and  thrown  into 
prison,  a  vile,  clftse  hole  where  we  nearly  smothered. 
The  place  must  have  been  some  old  fortress,  I  think, 
for  there  were  slits  in  the  wall  like  port  holes,  only  so 
high  from  the  ground  that  we  had  to  make  a  ladder  of 
each  other's  shoulders  when  we  wanted  to  look  out. 
We  could  catch  a  glimpse  of  the  water  and  the  shipsr 
and  though  the  sight  used  to  make  us  so  homesick  that 
half  of  us  cried  like  babies,  we  all  wanted  to  take  one 


14  HOLDER  WITH   CORDS. 

turn  in  looking.  I  tell  you,  Leander,  I  felt  a  thousand 
times  worse  for  my  poor  men  than  I  ever  did  for  my- 
self." 

I  did  not  doubt  this  statement  in  the  least.  My  dear 
grandfather  had  the  kindest  heart  that  ever  beat  in 
mortal  bosom.  His  very  silver  snuff-box  reflected  the 
benevolence  of  his  face  like  a  radiator. 

u  One  day,1'  he  continued,  "  a  military  officer  visited 
the  prison.  I  believe  he  was  some  sort  of  General  In- 
spector or  something  of  the  sort,  and  it  flashed  through 
my  mind  that  very  possibly  he  was  a  Mason.  Without 
stopping  to  think  I  gave  the  sign  of  distress,  to  which 
he  promptly  responded.  And  now  do  you  wonder  that 
I  rate  highly  the  advantages  of  joining  such  an  institu- 
tion— a  universal  brotherhood  as  wide  as  the  world? 
For  remember,  he  was  as  ignorant  of  English  as  I  was 
of  French.  Only  his  vow5  as  a  Mason  could  have  led 
him  to  take  the  smallest  interest  in  my  fate.  Yet  from 
that  hour  my  condition  was  entirely  changed.  New 
and  roomy^  quarters  were  given  me,  a  new  suit  of 
clothes,  good  food  and  considerable  freedom — everything 
in  short  but  the  privilege  of  writing  home  to  my  family 
and  friends.  But  the  condition  of  my  poor  men 
weighed  6n  my  heart.  I  tried  hard  and  used  every 
means  in  my  power  to  exert  my  in^ience  as  a  Mason 

NOTE  5. — "  Secrecy  has  a  mystic,  binding,  almost  supernatural  force,  and 
unites  men  more  closely  together  than  all  other  means  combined.  Suppose  two 
men,  strangers,  traveling  in  a  distant  country,  should  by  some  accident  be 
brought  together  for  a  few  brief  moments,  during  which  they  happen  to  be  the 
involuntary  witnesses  of  some  terrible  deed,  a  deed  which  circumstances  demand 
shall  remain  a  secret  between  them  forever.  In  all  the  wide  world  only  these 
two  men,  and  they  strangers  to  each  other,  know  the  secret.  They  separate; 
continents  and  oceans  and  many  eventful  years  divide  them ;  but  they  cannot 
forget  each  other,  nor  the  dread  mystery  which  binds  them  together  as  with  an 
iron  chain.  Neither  time  nor  distance  can  weaken  that  mighty  bond.  In  that 
they  are  forever  one.  It  is  not,  then,  for  any  vain  or  frivolous  purpose  that 
Masonry  appeals  to  the  principle  of  secrecy. "— Sickens  Ahiman  Rezon,,  p.  63. 


MY  GRANDFATHER'S  ADVICE.  15 

in  their  behalf,  but  it  was  of  no  use.  They  had  to  re- 
main six  months  in  that  wretched  prison,  destitute  of 
every  comfort,  till  finally  the  difficulties  were  settled 
between  our  government  and  the  French,  when  we 
were  all  set  free." 

u  But  I  can't  see  why  this  officer,  whoever  he  was, 
was  not  bound  by  his  Masonic  oath  to  heed  your  ap- 
peal in  behalf  of  the  poor  sailors,"  I  said,  rather  in- 
consequently,  as  my  grandfather  proceeded  to  show. 

"  They  were  noi  Masons.  We  must  draw  a  dividing 
line  somewhere.  Because  a  general  rule  sometimes 
bears  very  hard  on  a  particular  case  it  doesn't  follow 
that  the  rule  is  not  good.  To  allow  outsiders  to  share 
its  benefits  would  only  end  in  the  destruction  of  the 
order.  Nothing  could  be  plainer.  But  then  Leander, 
if  you  don't  care  to  join  just  yet  I  won't  urge  it. 
There's  plenty  of  time." 

My  grandfather  evidently  thought  he  had  said 
enough,  but  his  sudden  lapse  into  a  tone  and  manner, 
seemingly  half  indifferent,  by  some  curious  law  of  con- 
traries produced  more  effect  on  me  than  his  former 
earnest  strain. 

"  I  don't  want  to  put  off  doing  anything  that  would 
really  be  an  advantage  to  me,"  t  said. 

My  grandfather  looked  gratified. 

"  I'm  glad  to  hear  you  say  so,  Leander.  Procrastina- 
tion is  a  bad  thing.  It  has  ruined  the  prospects  of 
many  a  young  man  before  now.  If  a  thing  is  right 
and  proper  to  do,  nothing  is  gained,  but  sometimes  a 
good  deal  is  lost  by  delay." 

My  grandfather  shook  the  ashes  from  his  pipe  and 
said  no  more,  while  I  suddenly  remembering  some  neg- 
lected farm  duties,  to  which  the  moral  reflections  he 


16  HOLDER   WITH   COEDS. 

had  just  uttered  were  certainly  very  apropos,  took  my 
hat  from  its  peg  and  hurried  out. 

It  was  the  spring  of  1826.  It  was  also  the  spring 
time  of  the  Nineteenth  century,  ushered  in  for  the  Old 
World  in  fierce  storm  and  conflict,  for  us  of  the  New 
in  comparative  peace  and  quiet,  though  the  year  1812 
had  left  scars  on  our  prosperity  not  wholly  effaced, 
while  there  was  even  then  in  the  atmosphere  of  the 
times,  at  least  for  those  who  had  ears  to  hear,  "  a  sound 
as  of  a  going  in  the  tops  of  the  mulherry  trees1' — a 
stir  of  contending  moral  forces,  of  great  questions  to 
be  answered,  and  great  issues  to  be  met — how  answered 
and  how  met,  ye  brave  souls  who  have  stood  so  nobly 
for  God  and  right,  even  in  the  very  darkest  hour  of 
wrong's  seeming  triumph,  tell  us! 

In  our  small  wilderness  community,  with  few  books 
and  fewer  newspapers,  we  knew  little  and  cared  less  for 
the  differing  issues  of  the  day,  but  there  are  always 
some  souls  who  seem  to  be  electrically  responsive  to 
the  times  they  are  born  into,  and  such  a  one  was  my 
second  cousin  and  nearest  neighbor,  Mark  Stedman. 
To  a  slightly  built  frame  was  coupled  one  of  those 
ardent,  longing,  religious  souls  that  are  ever  striv- 
ing after  unattained — the  world  says  unattainable — 
ideals. 

'He  had  taught  our  district  school  two  winters,  but  in 
the  summer  he  worked  on  his  father's  farm.  Astrono- 
my and  theology  were  his  favorite  studies.  They  fed 
his  love  of  the  sublime  a.nd  the  mysterious,  while  they 
ministered  to  the  deepest  cravings  of  a  nature  at  once 
reverent  and  speculative;  ready  to  follow  Truth  to  the 
world's  ends,  but  afflicted  with  a  certain  moral  near- 
sightedness  that  made  him  just  as  ready  to  follow  Error 


17 

when  she  aped  Truth,  though  in  never  so  clumsy  a 
fashion. 

It  was,  as  I  have  said,  a  period  of  suppressed  stir  and 
ferment  in  the  intellectual  and  religious  life  of  the 
country — a  breaking  away  from  the  old  forms  of 
thought,  a  cutting  loose  from  the  anchor  of  the  old 
creeds,  and  the  subtle  influence  of  the  times  could  not 
fail  to  reach  a  soul  so  sympathetic  and  intense  as  Mark 
Stedman's,  though  with  an  effect  a  good  deal  like  new 
wine  in  old  bottles. 

How  we  ever  became  close  friends  may  puzzle  the 
reader.  I  can  give  no  better  explanation  than  tli3 
facts  previously  stated,  that  we  were  cousins  and  near 
neighbors,  with  this  important  addition,  I  was  affianced 
to  his  sister  Rachel. 

Of  course  the  sagacious  reader  will  at  once  perceive 
why  my  grandfather's  advice  was  so  peculiarly  palata- 
ble. It  was  my  ambition — a  very  pardonable  one  cer- 
tainly— to  give  Rachel  a  comfortable  home  at  the  out- 
set, and  almost  any  stepping  stone  to  success  I  felt 
warranted  in  mounting,  unless  it  involved  doing  what 
was  really  mean  or  dishonorable.  And  that,  one 
thought  of  Rachel,  and  the  noble  scorn  that  would 
flash  from  her  black  eyes  if  she  knew  it.  had  the  power 
to  stop  me  from  on  the  instant. 

This  being  the  case  I  was  blessed  with  something 
like  a  double  conscience.  Her  approval  or  disapproval, 
like  a  final  verdict  from  the  Supreme  Bench,  carried 
with  it  no  possible  chance  of  appeal.  Yet  with  all  her 
stern  sense  of  right  she  was  a  most  gentle  creature, 
pitiful  to  a  worm,  careful  of  everybody's  feelings,  and 
ready  to  show  kindness  to  the  most  degraded  human 
being. 


18  HOLDER   WITH   CORDS. 

T  had  no  thought  of  entering  the  lodge  without  first 
talking  over  the  suhject  with  her.  I  felt  that  her  prac- 
tical good  sense  would  be  quick  to  see  the  advantage  of 
such  a  step,  and1*  being  by  this  time  fully  persuaded 
that  it  was  entirely  and  solely  for  her  sake  that  1  con- 
templated taking  it,  I  was  naturally  not  unwilling  that 
she  should  be  cognizant  of  this  fact. 

But  on  paying  my  customary  visit  at  the  Stedman's 
I  found  only  Mark  at  home,  seated  on  the  back  stoop 
with  a  book  and  a  piece  of  paper  before  him  on  which 
he  was  drawing  some  complicated  diagram  by  the  fail- 
ing sunset  light.  Rachel  was  spending  the  afternoon 
with  a  neighbor  and  had  not  yet  returned. 

It  was  so  warm  and  pleasant  I  declined  his  invitation 
to  go  in,  but  took  a  seat  beside  him  on  the  stoop,  and 
after  a  little  preliminary  talk,  rather  absently  sustained 
by  Mark,  whose  soul  was  in  his  beloved  calculations,  I 
began  upon  the  subject  just  now  uppermost  in  my 
thoughts. 

"  Mark,  I'm  thinking  of  joining  the  Freemasons. 
My  grandfather  strongly  advises  it,  and  when  all  is  con- 
sidered I  am  not  sure  but  it  would  really  be  as  he  says, 
the  very  best  thing  I  could  do." 

Mark  chewed  a  spear  of  grass  in  silence.  But  his 
abstracted  manner  was  entirely  gone,  and  I  could  see 
that  my  communication  had  for  some  reason  roused  an 
unusual  degree  of  interest,  though  he  waited  full  three 
minutes  before  replying. 


CHAPTER  II. 


ELL,  Leander,"  he  said  at  last,  "what  is 
your  principal  reason  for  wishing  to  join 
the  Masons,  anyway?" 

u  The  idea  of  some  practical  benefit  to 
me,  of  course.     Their  influence  will  help 
me  on  in  my  business,  and  be  a  great  ad- 
vantage  now   that   I  am  just   starting  in 
life." 

"  I  beg  your  pardon;  but  such  a  reason  seems 
to  me  very  low  and  unworthy.  Motives  of  mere  selfish 
interest  ought  hot  to  be  the  chief  ones  to  sway  men  of 
principle  and  conscience  when  making  any  important 
decision;  especially  when  it  regards  joining  an  institu- 
tion whose  character  and  antiquity  ranks  it  only  next 
to  the  church  itself.  Even  you,  Leander,  would  shrink 
aghast  from  the  thought  of  joining  the  church  for  any 
such  reason  as  mere  worldly  benefit.'1 

I  listened  in  some  amaze,  for  Mark  in  his  earnestness 
was  twirling  and  twisting  the  piece  of  paper  on  which 
he  had  drawn  his  half-finished  diagram,  into  a  shapeless 
quid  between  his  thumb  and  finger — a  forgetfulne^s 
which  evinced  as  nothing  else  could  have  done,  that 
our  subject  of  talk  was,  for  the  moment  at  least,  of 
supreme  and  absorbing  interest. 


20  HOLDER  WITH  CORDS. 

u  I  know  Masonry  claims  to  be  very  old  and  to  teach 
morality  and  religion  and  all  that  sort  of  thing,"  I  said 
at  length.  "  But  the  fact  is,  you  and  I  belong  to  two 
different  sets  of  beings.  I  am  of  the  earth,  earthy. 
I'll  frankly  own  up  to  it.  And  you  are — well,  some- 
where between  heaven  and  earth  most  of  the  time,  and 
I  guess  a  little  nearest  heaven  of  the  two.  After  all,  I 
don't  understand  this  fuss  about  motives.  If  two  roads 
lead  to  the  same  place,  what  great  difference  dyes  it 
make  which  one  I  take?  Though  I  don't  join  with  an 
especial  eye  to  these  moral  and  religious  considerations 
that  you  seem  to  think  so  much  of,  I  suppose  I  shall 
get  the  benefit,  of  them  just  as  much  as  those  who 
do." 

"  I  am  not  so  sure  of  that,  Leander.  Do  gold  and 
jewels  lie  on  the  surface  of  the  ground  for  men  to  pick 
up  at  their  will?  And  is  truth,  which  is  more  valuable 
than  topaz  or  ruby,  to  be  gained  at  less  cost?  Doesn't 
it  make  all  the  difference  in  the  world  whether  a  man 
sets  out  to  search  for  gold,  or  hunt  for  blackberries?  If 
you  join  the  lodge  for  mere  worldly  advancement  you 
will  probably  get  what  you  seek,  but  its  higher  and 
grander  benefits,  as  they  formed  no  part  of  your 
motive  in  entering,  will  not  in  all  likelihood  ever  be 
yours." 

'"For  pity's  sake,  Mark,  why  don't  you  join?"  I 
asked,  banteringly.  u  Does  the  Papal  doctrine  of 
supererogatory  merit  prevail  in  the  lodge?  I  hope  so. 
I  am  sure  it  would  be  very  convenient  for  me  and  other 
poor  sinners,  for  a  few  members  like  you  scattered  here 
and  there  would  cover  up  all  our  shortcomings." 

"  Leander,  don't  make  a  joke  of  serious  things.  I 
can't  bear  to  have  you.  The  fact  is  I  have  been  think- 


FREEMASONKY   DISCUSSED.  21 

ing  over  the  matter  for  a  long  tivne — ever  since  I  had 
a  talk  with  our  minister,  Elder  Gushing.  You  know  I 
never  could  see  my  way  clear  to  join  the  church.  I 
hope  I  am  a  Christian,  but  I  never  had  the  assurance. 
1  am  sorry  for  my  sins,  but  I  was  never  visited  with 
those  deep  convictions  that  others  feel.  And  while 
these  evidences  are  lacking  I  simply  don't  dare  ap- 
proach the  Lord's  table  for  fear  I  may  eat  and  ,drink 
unworthily,  and  so  bring  down  on  my  head  the  guilt  of 
unpardonable  sin.  I  told  him  just  how  I  felt,  and  he 
said  that  perhaps,  on  the  whole,  it  would  be  better  to 
wait  till  my  evidences  grew  clearer.  And  then  he  be- 
gan to  talk  about  Masonry,  how  it  was  the  oldest  and 
most  venerable  of  institutions,  sanctioned  by  the  good 
and  great  of  every  age.  Religion's  strongest  ally, 
teaching  the  most  sublime  principles  of  virtue,  so  that 
it  was  really  like  a  kind  of  vestibule  leading  into  the 
church  itself.  He  strongly  recommended  me  to  join 
it  as  a  kind  of  preparatory  sisep.  I  have  put  it  off  for  a 
good  while,  but  I  don't  mean  to  any  longer.  Now 
you  know  my  reasons,  Leander,  for  becoming  a 
Mason.1' 

It  is  said  by  Christ  that  u  the  children  of  this  world 
are  in  their  generation  wiser  than  the  children  of 
light."  Even  in  this  case  I  was  a  good  deal  wiser  than 
Mark  Stedman.  But  I  made  no  audible  comment  ex- 
cept a  low  whistle  under  my  breath  which  would  bear 
any  interpretation  he  chose  to  put  upon  it. 

uHave  you  told  Rachel?11  I  finally  asked. 

u  No,  but  I  have  been  meaning  to;  I  hardly  know 
why  I  haven't." 

The  fact  was  I  enjoyed  more  of  Mark's  confidence 
than  his  sister  did.  His  poetical,  mystical  nature  was 


22  HOLDER   WITH   COKDS. 

apt  to  shrink  from  the  touchstone  of  her  clear  common 
sense.  The  very  closeness  of  their  near  relationship, 
allowing  as  it  did  no  vantage  ground  of  distance  from 
which  to  view  each  other,  was  in  their  case  what  it 
very  often  is — a  bar  to  mutual  understanding. 

At  that  moment  Rachel's  light  step  parted  the 
orchard  grass.  The  gold  and  crimson  had  faded  from 
the  sky  and  in  its  place  was  the  more  heavenly  glory  of 
the  eventide.  There  was  the  pale  sickle  of  a  young- 
moon  overhead  and  a  few  stars  had  begun  to  tremble 
faintly  out  of  the  blue.  She  came  forward  with  her 
bonnet  untied  and  falling  backward,  and  her  brown 
cheek  glowing  with  youth  and  health.  Ruth  might 
have  looked  thus  hastening  home  from  the  harvest 
fields  of  Bethlehem. 

"  I  thought  I  heard  my  name  spoken,1'  she  said,  as 
she  came  up.  u  What  is  the  confab  about,  pray?" 

"  We  were  talking  about  joining  the  Masons.  What 
do  you  think  about  it,  Rachel?" 

Rachel  took  her  bonnet  entirely  off  and  twirled  it 
by  the  string  a  moment  before  she  replied. 

"  I  don't  think  anything  about  it.  Why  should  I? 
In  the  first  place  I  know  nothing  about  it,  and  am 
never  likely  to.  That  is  reason  enough  for  keeping 
my  opinions  to  myself.  But  I  don't  mind  telling  both 
of  you  that  there  are  things  about  Masonry  which  I 
neither  like  nor  understand.  What  is  the  need  of 
secrecy,  for  instance?  I  should  not  have  to  ask  that 
question  about  a  band  of  thieves,  or  even  a  handful  of 
patriots  who  had  met  to  plot  the  overthrow  of  some 
tyrant  such  as  we  read  of  in  history.  But  in  a  time  of 
peace  and  a  land  of  freedom  what  is  the  use,  as  I  say, 
of  secrecy?" 


FKEEMASONEY   DISCUSSED.  23 

"  I  suppose  good  can  work  in  secret  as  well  as  evil," 
said  Mark.  "  Indeed,  I  asked  Elder  Gushing  this  very 
question  and  he  reasoned  something  like  this:  that  the 
mysteries  of  Masonry,  like  the  mysteries  of  religion, 
were  too  sacred  to  be  openly  exposed  to  the  gaze  of  the 
common  and  profane,  who  would  not  be  benefited 
thereby,  and  for  whom  such  things  would  only  make 
sport.  Even  the  white  stone  and  the  new  name  were 
secret  symbols  used  in  heaven." 

"  Well,''  said  Rachel,  turning  upon  him  rather  sharp- 
ly, "  as  nature  made  me  a  woman  I  suppose  I  am  one 
of  the  common  and  profane  in  the  eye  of  Masonry  and 
Elder  Gushing.  How  could  he  draw  any  such  parallel? 
Religion  opens  the  door  freely  to  male  and  female,  rich 
and  poor,  bond  and  free.  I  never  did  get  any  good  out 
of  our  Elder's  sermons  and  I  am  afraid  I  shall  get  less 
now.  But  that  brings  me  round  to  the  next  point. 
Isn't  it  rather  hard  that  women  are  excluded?  Don't 
we  need  its  moral  and  religious  teachings  as  much  as 
men  do?  Are  we  never  placed  in  circumstances  of 
trial  or  danger  when  the  succor  and  help  that  }TOU  say 
every  Mason  is  bound  to  give  his  distressed  brothers 
would  be  very  grateful?" 

u  But,  Rachel,"  I  said,  u  men  vote  and  make  the  laws. 
Women  are  excluded  from  our  legislative  halls,  but  you 
don't  complain  of  that.  If  our  laws  are  made  by  only 
one  sex  they  are  framed  in  the  interest  of  both,  one  as 
much  as  the  other.  And  so,  though  women  cannot  be 
Masons,  they  get  all  the  real  benefits  of  the  institution 
when  their  husbands  and  brothers  join." 

My  experience  had  not  then  shown  me  their  false- 
ness. I  was  telling  Rachel  only  what  I  actually  be- 
lieved. 


24  HOLDER   WITH   CORDS. 

She  was  silent  a  moment  and  then  with  a  little  laugh 
in  which  amusement  seemed  to  blend  with  a  suppressed 
doubtfulness,  she  turned  to  go  into  the  house,  only  say- 
ing as  she  did  so — 

u  I  won't  presume  to  dictate  in  a  thing  I  know  noth- 
ing about.  I  dare  say  it  is  all  right.  It  must  be  if 
such  a  good  man  as  your  grandfather  thinks  it  is.  He 
is  a  better  man  than  Elder  Gushing — a  great  deal." 

Rachel  did  not  open  her  lips  again  on  the  subject 
and  steadily  evaded  all  efforts  on  my  part  to  resume  it. 


CHAPTER  III. 

A  MYSTERIOUS   BOOK— CHAMBERS   OF   IMAGERY. 

T  WAS  accordingly  arranged  that  Mark 
Stedman  and  I  should  present  ourselves 
as  candidates  for  admission  into  the 
lodge,  which  was  at  that  time  one  of  the 
most  flourishing  institutions  of  our  little 
village.  Not  only  did  the  minister  belong 
to  it,  but  the  senior  deacon  and  many 
church  members,  to  say  nothing  of  others, 
who,  though  of  that  carnal  world  which,  ac- 
cording to  St.  John,  "  lieth  in  wickedness,"  were  yet 
pew  owners,  and  in  their  way  pillars  of  respectability 
and  influence. 

The  preaching  of  Elder  Gushing  was  on  this  wise. 
He  often  gave  us  excellent  moral  homilies  and  some- 
times equally  excellent  resumes  of  Israelitish  history, 
in  which  he  lashed  severely  the  sins  of  the  chosen  peo- 
ple and  their  countless  backslidings  into  idolatry,  from 
Aaron's  golden  calf  down  to  the  sun  worshipers  seen 
by  Ezekiel  in  the  temple.  The  young  people  mean- 
while, seated  in  the  galleries,  laughed  and  whispered, 
and  wrote  notes  to  each  other,  while  their  elders  slept 
comfortably  in  the  pews  below.  But  into  his  sermons, 
Christ  Jesus,  the  Hope  of  all  nations,  the  Sin  Bearer 
for  a  ruined  world,  if  He  entered  at  all,  came  only  "  as 
a  wayfaring  man  who  turneth  aside  for  a  night." 


26  HOLDER   WITH   CORDS. 

Under  a  preaching  that  had  so  little  to  say  about  the 
great  Head,  it  must  be  owned  that  the  church  in 
Brownsville  needed  considerable  propping  up,  and 
might  well  be  congratulated  that  so  efficient  an ''  ally  " 
stood  at  her  elbow;  for  the  meeting  house  and  the 
lodge,  as  if  to  symbolize  their  friendly  relations  were 
only  separated  by  the  main  street  of  the  village,  and 
stood  not  a  stone's  throw  apart. 

Perhaps  the  meekest  sheep  would  have  its  thoughts 
if  the  shepherd  persisted  in  feeding  it  on  thistle;  and 
I  cannot  blame  Rachel  if  in  her  young  uncharitable- 
ness,  craving  for  spiritual  food  that  should  satisfy  a 
hungered  soul,  hardly  knoAving  herself  what  she  want- 
ed, only  knowing  that  she  never  got  it,  she  often  said 
sharp  things  of  Elder  Gushing. 

My  initiation  into  the  lodge  preceded  Mark's  by  his 
own  desire.  As  for  me  I  was  quite  willing  to  take  the 
entering  step  first  and  alone,  and  was  only  amused  at 
Mark's  request.  "  Of  course  so  many  good  men  would 
never  join  it  if  it  wasn't  all  it  claims  to  be,"  he  said, 
apologetically,  making  use  of  that  time-honored  argu- 
ment, which  I  believe  has,  at  one  period  or  another, 
buttressed  up  every  evil  thing  under  the  sun.  uBut 
the  thought  troubled  me  of  assuming  solemn  obliga- 
tions whose  nature  I  can  know  nothing  about  before- 
hand. It  really  makes  me  tremble.  Supposing  I 
couldn't  conscientiously  take  them?" 

u  Don't  distress  yourself,  old  fellow,"  I  returned  care- 
lessly. "  Your  conscience  is  just  like  a  new  shoe — 
always  pinching.  When  IVe  crossed  the  Rubicon 
you'll  pluck  up  some  courage,  I  hope." 

And  poor  Mark,  meeting  with  no  sympathetic  under- 
standing of  his  peculiar  difficulties,  either  from  Rachel 


A  MYSTERIOUS  BOOK — CHAMBERS  OF  IMAGERY.         27 

or  me — for  she  would  not  be  drawn  into  another  dis- 
cussion of  the  subject  by  the  most  artfully  framed 
attempt  to  throw  her  off  her  guard — betook  hinrself  to 
the  barn,  where  a  dozen  gentle-eyed  nioolies,  his  special 
pride  and  care,  stood  ready  for  milking.  Not  a  creature 
on  the  farm  but  would  come  at  Mark's  call.  And  in 
their  dumb  trust  and  confidence  I  have  no  doubt  he 
found  some  comfort,  if  nothing  else.  They,  at  least, 
never  misunderstood  him. 

I  must  state  here  that  my  younger  brother,  Joe,  had 
been  improving  his  leisure  time  for  several  days  in 
poring  over  an  old  book  which  he  generally  contrived 
to  shuffle  out  of  sight  when  anybody  approached.  1 
thought  it  beneath  my  dignity  to  be  unduly  curious  in 
Joe's  affairs,  but  one  night — the  important  one  of  my 
initiation  into  the  lodge — seeing  him  occupied  in  his 
usual  manner,  I  inquired,  as  I  consulted  the  glass  and 
ran  my  lingers  through  my  hair  several  times  to  be 
sure  I  was  all  right,  what  book  he  had  there. 

"  Maybe  I'll  lend  it  to  you  when  I'm  done  with  it," 
was  Joe's  evasive  answer. 

When  I  turned  round  Joe  was  innocently  paring  an 
apple,  but  the  book  was  gone:  a  faculty  of  suddenly 
and  completely  disappearing,  as  if  the  earth  had  opened 
and  swallowed  it  up  seeming  to  be  one  of  the  most  re- 
markable properties  of  the  volume. 

"I  dare  say  it  is  some  foolish  dream  book.  If  it  is, 
Joe,  you'd  better  throw  it  into  the  tire  and  not  be 
spending  precious  time  in  this  way." 

"  It  ain't  a  dream  book,"  said  the  indignant  Joe,  in 
response  to  this  brotherly  counsel.  "  It's  a  Bible  story, 
now;  ain't  it,  Sam?" 

The  person  appealed  to  nodded  his  head  and  blinked 


ZO  HOLDER   WITH   CORDS. 

one  eye  alternately  at  Joe  and  rue  like  a  quizzical  owl, 
but  made  no  other  reply. 

Sam,  by  the  way,  was  a  kind  of  village  "  ne'er  do 
weel"who  only  worked  when  he  felt  like  it;  and  as 
his  feelings  in  this  respect  were  about  as  little  to  be 
depended  on  as  the  weather,  his  services  were  not  in 
much  demand  among  the  farmers  round,  except  at  par- 
ticular seasons  of  the  year  when  help  was  scarce.  But 
my  grandfather,  in  the  kindness  of  his  heart,  often 
hired  Sam  Toller  when  nobody  else  would;  and  thus 
Joe,  who  rather  took  to  the  shiftless,  kindly  fellow,  had 
as  much  of  his  society  as  he  liked. 

"  Going  now,  Leander?"  asked  Joe,  as  my  hand  was 
on  the  latch. 

u  Yes ;  its  about  time.     Why  ?" 

"Oh,  nothing.  Only  take  care  you  don't  get  too  much 
light.  'Taint  healthy.  It  blinds  folks  sometimes.1' 

As  this  enigmatical  advice  was  only  a  specimen  of 
many  mysterious  hints  dropped  by  Joe,  I  paid  no  atten- 
tion to  it,  though  after  closing  the  door  I  was  very  cer- 
tain I  heard  a  smothered  guffaw  from  Sam. 

My  first  view  of  the  lodge  room  was  not  calculated 
to  impress  me  with  any  undue  sense  of  solemnity.  Our 
meeting  house,  bare,  homely,  barnlike  structure  though 
it  was,  I  never  entered  without  feeling  in  some  dim 
way  that  there  was  a  wide  difference  between  it  and 
all  secular  places.  Here  tobacco  juice  defiled  the  floor, 
while  the  atmosphere  was  unmistakably  pervaded  with 
a  strong  smell  of  Old  Bourbon.  But  as  this  was  before 
the  era  of  the  temperance  reform,  when  even  ministers 
drank  their  daily  glass  (or  more)  as  a  matter  of  course, 
it  is  to  be  hoped  the  reader  will  conceive  no  unreason^ 
able  prejudice. 


A  MYSTERIOUS  BOOK — CHAMBERS  OF  IMAGERY.        29 

Except  as  regarded  the  obligation  to  secrecy,  which 
I  naturally  thought  must  imply  a  secret  of  some  im- 
portance to  keep — else  why  the  obligation? — and  the 
equally  natural  idea  that  the  ceremonies  of  initiation 
into  an  order  coeval  rwith  the  building  of  Solomon6s 
temple  must  be  conducted  with  at  least  some  degree  of 
corresponding  dignity,  I  had  not  the  dimmest  guess  of 
what  was  to  follow. 

To  the  question  whether  "  unbiased  by  friends,  un- 
influenced by  worldly  motives,  I  freely  and  voluntarily 
offered  myself  a  candidate  for  the  mysteries  of  Mason- 
ry," I  gave,  though  rather  falteringly,  the  expected 
affirmative.  Had  I  not  been  strongly  u  biased  "  by  my 
grandfather's  wishes?  and  had  not  Mark  Stedman  told 
me  that  my  motives  in  entering  were  altogether  un- 
worthy? Though  I  had  none  of  Mark's  religiousness, 
1  had  been  brought  up  in  good  old  Puritan  fashion, 
and  a  double  falsehood  right  on  the  very  threshold  of 
my  Masonic  career  did  not  look  to  me  like  a  promising 
beginning. 

I  am  an  old  man  now,  but  I  blush  to-day  at  the 
thought  of  a  half-nude,  blindfolded  figure/  with  a  rope 
around  his  neck  waiting  for  the  lodge  door  to  be  opened 
to  "  a  poor  blind  candidate 1''  —poor  and  blind  enough. 

NOTE  6. —  "There  he  stands  without  our  portals,  on  the  threshold  of  this  new 
Masonic  life,  in  darkness,  helplessness  and  ignorance.  Having  been  wandering 
amid  the  errors  and  covered  over  with  the  pollutions  of  the  outer  and  profane 
world,  he  comes  inquiringly  to  our  doors  seeking  the  new  birth  and  asking  a 
withdrawal  of  the  veil  which  conceals  divine  truth  from  his  uninitiated  si^ht. 
*  There  is  to  be  not  simply  a  change  for  the  future  but  also  an  extinction 
of  the  past,  for  initiation  is  as  it  were  a  death  to  the  world  and  a  resurrection  to 
a  new  life."— Mackey's  Ritualist,  pages 22-23. 

NOTE  7.  — "  PREPARATION.  There  is  much  analogy  between  the  preparation  of 
the  candidate  in  Masonry  and  the  preparation  for  entering  the  Temple  as  prac- 
ticed among  the  ancient  Israelites.  The  Talmudical  treatise  entitled  ' '  Beracoth  " 
prescribes  the  regulations  in  these  words:  '  No  man  shall  enter  into  the  Lord's 
house  with  his  staff  [an  offensive  weapon]  nor  with  his  outer  garment,  nor  with 
his  shoes  on  his  feet,  nor  with  money  in  his  purse."— Mackey's  Ritualist,  page 
42,  Art.  Preparation. 


30  HOLDEK  WITH   CORDS. 

% 

Heaven  knows !  "  who  had  long  been  desirous  of  re- 
ceiving and  having  a  part  of  the  rights  and  benefits  of 
this  worshipful  lodge,  dedicated  to  God,  and  held  forth 
to  the  holy  order  of  St.  John,  as  all  true  fellows  and 
brothers  have  done  who  have  gone  this  way  before  him/' 

Of  course  the  Masonic  reader  is  privileged  to  skip 
these  details.  They  are  only  intended  for  the  "  common 
and  profane "  outsider — to  borrow  Elder  Cushing's 
phrase,  so  highly  resented  by  Rachel;  and  as  they  are 
not  pleasant  to  me  in  the  retrospect,  T  may  be  excused 
for  wanting  to  abridge  them  as  far  as  is  consistent  with 
a  graphic  account. 

Suffice  it  to  say,  that  after  answering  in  an  equally 
foolish  manner  a  varietj^  of  foolish  questions — or  rather 
having  them  answered  for  me,  I  was  made  to  kneel  in 
front  of  the  altar  with  my  left  hand  under  the  open 
Bible,  and  my  right  on  the  square  and  compass,  there 
to  take  the  oath,  with  the  customary  assurance  that  it 
"would  not  affect  my  religion  or  my  politics." 

Up  to  this  time  I  had  been  simply  dazed  and  con- 
founded. The  wide  difference  between  my  imaginings 
and  the  reality  had  almost  roused  in  me  the  indignant 
suspicion  that  instead  of  being  regularly  initiated  I  was 
being  made  the  victim  of  a  practical  joke.  Now  the 
real  thing  was  to  come;  and  comforted  by  thinking^ 
that  the  Ultima  Thule  for  which  I  had  embarked  on 
the  unknown  sea  of  Masonry  was  at  last  in  plain  sight, 
I  went  through  the  first  part  calmly  and  steadily. 

"  I,  Leander  Severns,  of  my  own  free  will  and  accord, 
in  presence  of  Almighty  God  and  this  Worshipful 
Lodge  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  dedicated  to  God, 
and  held  forth  to  the  holy  order  of  St.  John,  do  hereby 
and  hereon  most  sincerely  promise  and  swear  that  I  will 


A  MYSTERIOUS  BOOK  —  CHAMBERS  OF  IMAGERY.         31 

always  hail,  ever  conceal  and  never  reveal  any  part  or 
parts,  art  or  arts,  point  or  points  of  the  secret  art  and 
mysteries  of  Ancient  Freemasonry  which  I  have  re- 
ceived, am  about  to  receive,  or  may  hereafter  be 
instructed  in,  to  any  person  or  persons  in  the  known 
world,  except  it  be  to  a  true  and  lawful  brother  Mason, 
or  within  the  body  of  a  just  and  lawfully  constituted 
lodge  of  such;  and  not  unto  him  or  unto  them  whom 
I  shall  hear  so  to  be,  but  unto  him  and  them  only  whom 
I  shail  find  so  to  be  after  strict  trial  and  due  examina- 
tion or  lawful  information. 

"  Furthermore  I  promise  and  swear  that  I  will  not 
write,  print,  stamp,  stain,  hew,  cut,  carve,  indent,  paint 
or  engrave  it  on  anything  movable  or  immovable,  under 
the  whole  canopy  of  heaven,  whereby  or  whereon  the 
least  letter,  figure,  character,  mark,  stain,  shadow  or 
resemblance  of  the  same  may  become  legible  or  in- 
telligible to  myself  or  any  other  person  in  the  known 
world,  whereby  the  secrets8  of  Masonry  may  be  unlaw- 
fully obtained  through  my  unworthiness." 

But  when  I  came  to  the  closing  part:  •"  To  'all  of 
which  I  do  most  solemnly  and  sincerely  promise  and 
swear,  without  the  least  equivocation,  mental  reserva- 
tion, or  self-evasion  of  mind  in  me  whatever,  binding 
myself  under  no  less  penalty  than  to  have  my  throat  cut 
across,  my  tongue  torn  out  by  the  roots  and  my  body 
buried  in  the  rough  sands  of  the  sea  at  loiv  water  mark. 
where  the  tide  ebbs  and  flows  twice  in  tiventij-four  hours; 
so  help  me  God,  and  keep  me  steadfast  in  the  due  per- 
formance of  the  same"  I  stopped  short  in  horror  and 
dismay. 


.  —  "The  importance  of  Secret  -keeping  is  made  the  ground-work  of  all 
Masonic  degrees.  —Morris's  Dictionary,  Art.  Secret-Breaking  . 


3£  HOLDER  WITH  CORDS. 

Bind  myself  under  penalties  so  horrible?  Never. 
Not  for  the  secret  of  the  philosopher's  stone. 

Shocked  and  horrified  I  was  going  to  refuse  decidedly 
to  go  on,  when  a  thought  of  my  absurd  condition, 
kneeling  there  blindfolded,  haltered,  with  only  a  shirt 
and  a  pair  of  drawers,  the  former  with  the  front  folded 
back,  one  leg  and  one  arm  bare,  one  shoe  off  and  one 
shoe  on,  to  vary  slightly  the  classic  rhyme  of  "  my  son 
John,"  rushed  upon  me  with  a  horrible  sense  of  the 
ludicrous.  And  aftar  that  one  moment's  hesitation  I 
swallowed  my  scruples  and  took — God  forgive  me! — the 
Entered  Apprentice  oath. 

Then  came,  in  Masonic  phrase,  the  "  Shock  of  En- 
lightenment,"9 by  which  I  was  curiously  reminded,  as  I 
had  been  several  times  before,  in  the  course  of  the  cer- 
emonies, of  Joe's  mysterious  hints.  I  heard  the  Wor- 
shipful Master  repeat  that  passage  which  stands  on  the 
threshold  of  Holy  Writ,  alone  in  its  majesty,  like  a 
sublime  archangel,  set  to  guard  the  portals  of  eternal 
truth,  "And  God  said,  Let  there  be  light,  and  there  was 
light."  I  heard  a  confused  uproar  all  around  me  like 
Pandemonium  let  loose.  The  bandage  fell  from  my 
eyes,  and  giddy  and  faint  I  staggered  to  my  feet  to 
listen  to  a  short  semi-moral,  semi-religious,  semi- 
mystical  address  from  the  Worshipful  Master,  receive 
my  lambskin  apron,  and  be  presented  with  the  three 
Masonic  jewels,  u  a  listening  ear,  a  silent  tongue,  and 
a  faithful  heart,"  which  though  not  used  inexactly  the 


NOTE  9.  —  "  In  Masonry  by  the  Shock  of  Enlightenment  we  sect  humbly,  in- 
deed, and  at  an  inconceivable  distance,  to  preserve  the  recollection  and  to  em- 
body the  idea  of  the  birth  of  material  light  by  the  representation  of  the  circum- 
stances that  accompanied  It,  and  their  reference  to  the  birth  of  Intellectual  or 
Masonic  light.  The  one  is  the  type  of  the  other,  and  hence  the  illumination  a' 
the  candidate  is  attended  with  a  cer<  mony  that  may  be  supposed  to  imitate  ^he 
primal  illumination  of  the  universe. "— Mickey's  Ritualist,  page  34. 


A  MYSTERIOUS  BOOK — CHAMBERS  OF  IMAGERY.         33 

manner  intended,  I  have  had  considerable  occasion  for 
since,  as  subsequent  chapters  will  show. 

It  was  all  over.  I  was  a  regular  Entered  Apprentice 
in  a  lodge  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons. 

I  went  home  "  clothed/'  but  not  in  my  u  right  mind." 
My  senses  were  in  a  whirl  and  my  head  ached  terribly, 
which  was  no  matter  for  special  wonder  considering  the 
fact  that  in  our  lodge,  as  in  most  others  at  that  time, 
u  refreshment"10  had  followed  very  close  on  "labor," 
and  contrary  to  my  usual  habit  I  had  taken  more  than 
was  good  for  me. 

As  I  felt  in  no  mood  to  encounter  the  rasp  of  Joe's 
tongue,  I  was  much  relieved  Jo  find  him  in  bed  and 
asleep.  But  his  evident  inkling  into  lodge  room  mat- 
ters was  a  puzzle.  With  the  resolve  that  on  the  mor- 
row I  would  get  Joe's  secret  out  of  him  if  bribes  or 
threats  could  do  it,  I  crept  silently  into  bed,  not  desir- 
ing to  waken  Joe  if  I  could  help  it,  and  went  to  sleep 
like  "  one  of  the  wicked,"  without  saying  my  prayers. 

NOTB  10. — "By  the  term  ''refreshment'  is  symbolically  Implied  the  social 
hour  at  high  xli. ,  when  the  members  of  the  lodge  are  placed  under  charge  of  the 
Junior  Warden,  who  is  strictly  enjoined  to  see  that  thov  do  not  convert  the  pur- 
poses of  refreshment  into  Intemperance  and  excess.  "—Morris's  Dictionary,  Art. 
Refreshment. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

A   TALK   WITH   MY   GRANDFATHER. 

CALM  review  of  the  whole  subject  next 
morning  only  confirmed  me  in  my  won- 
dering bewilderment.  If  this  was  Free- 
£  masonry,  great  indeed  were  its  mysteries ; 
and  feeling  that  my  unassisted  faculties 
were  quite  powerless  to  comprehend  them, 
1  concluded  to  have  a  talk  with  my  grand- 
father, as  being  the  only  person  near  me  eligi- 
ble to  such  communications.  For  even  now  I 
began  to  feel  the  galling  bond11  of  lodge  slavery.  I 
could  not  tell  my  perplexities  to  Mark  Stedrnan,  my 
bosom  friend  from  boyhood,  and  though  in  his  case  the 
embargo  on  our  free  speech  was  likely  soon  to  be 
removed, between  Rachel  and  me  how  was  it?  How 
must  it  be  in  the  years  to  come,  when  we  should  sit  by 
our  own  hearthstone  ?  Freedom  to  talk  on  every  other 
subject,  but  as  regarded  this,  a  black,  bottomless  gulf 
of  silence,  which  one  of  us  could  not  cross,  and  the 
other  dared  not. 

I  did  not  want  to  start  the  conversation,  and  fidgeted 
about  some  time,  hoping  my  grandfather  would  begin. 

NOTE  11.  —  "  That  this  surrender  of  free-will  to  Masonic  authority  is  absolute, 
(within  the  scope  of  the  landmarks  of  the  order)  and  perpetual,  may  be  inferred 
from  an  examination  of  the  emblem  (the  shoe  or  sa-idal)  which  is  used  to  en- 
force this  lesson  of  resignation.1'—  Morris's  Dictionary.  Art.  Authority. 


A   TALK    WITH  MY  GRANDFATHER.  35 

I  must  stop  to  state  that,  owing  to  his  age  and  infirm- 
ities he  had  not  for  some  years  attended  any  meetings 
of  the  lodge. 

"  Well,  Leander,"  he  said  at  last,  pushing  his  specta- 
cles back  over  his  forehead,  "  when  are  you  intending 
to  take  the  other  degrees?'7 

"  I  don't  believe  I  shall  ever  take  them  at  all." 

My  grandfather  pushed  his  spectacles  farther  back 
and  looked  at  me  with  mild  surprise. 

"That  won't  do,  Leander.  To  get  the  full  benefits 
of  joining  the  order  you  ought  certainly  to  become  a 
Master  Mason.  That's  far  enough;*  as  far  as  I  ever 
went  myself.  I  don't  think  much  of  these  higher  de- 
grees they  are  perpetually  tacking  on  nowadays.  They 
are  what  Papist  ceremonies  are  to  religion ;  innovations 
that  can  only  work  mischief.  These  new-fangled,  up- 
start degrees  are  invented  to  tickle  shallow  minds. 
They  are  like  mitres,  and  red  hats,  and  triple  crowns, 
just  made  to  puff  up  human  vanity,  nothing  else  under 
the  sun.  Masonry,  pure  and  simple,  is  a  divine11  insti- 
tution, and  doesn't  need  any  of  this  artificial  bolstering 
up." 

'k  To  tell  the  truth,  grandfather,"  said  I,  waiving  a 
branch  of  the  subject  in  which  I  did  not  feel  interested, 
"  I  am  disappointed  in  the  whole  thing.  It  isn't  what 
I  thought  it  was.  I  don't  understand  it." 

kt  Of  course  you  don't,"  answered  my  grandfather, 
placidly.  "  It  isn't  intended  to  be  understood  at  first. 
Knowledge  must  corne  by  degrees.  I  never  met  with  a 

NOTE  12. —  "  All  the  ceremonies  of  our  order  arc  prefaced  and  terminated  with 
prayer  because  Masonry  If)  a  religious  Institution  and  because  we  thereby  show 
iv- r  dependence  on,  and  our  faith  and  trust  In,  G-od."  -Mackey's  Lexicon,  Art. 
Prayer. 


36        .  HOLDER  WITH   COEDS. 

man  yet  who  understood  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis." 

"  But,"  said  I,  making  a  desperate  rush  to  the  real 
point,  u  I  don't  like  the  way  in  which  the  oath  is  put, 
and  don't  quite  like  the  idea  of  taking  an  oath  at  all; 
but  if  I  could  take  it  as  in  a  court  of  justice,  erect,  with 
my  eyes  open  like  a  man,  and  none  of  those  horrible 
penalties  at  the  end,  I  should  make  no  objections  to  it." 

"You  feel  something  as  I  did,  Leander,"  was  my 
grandfather's  unexpected  reply.  '"  There  are  things  in 
Masonry  that  I  never  could  understand  even  to  this 
day,  that  I  never  could  bring  myself  to  quite  like.  But 
we  must  remember  that  it  is  a  very  ancient13  institution, 
founded  in  very  different  times  from  these,  so  naturally 
there  would  be  things  about  it  that  don't  accord  with 
our  ideas  now.  Why,  I  find  it  just  so  with  the  Bible, 
Leander.  There  are  things  in  the  Old  Testament  that 
I  never  could  quite  reconcile  in  my  own  mind  with  the 
New:  the  wars  of  the  Jews,  for  example,  and  David's 
praying  for  vengeance  on  his  enemies.  But  then  I 
don't  give  up  my  Bible.  I  know  it  is  all  right,  and 
that  is  enough  for  me.  And  just  so  with  Masonry;  I 
take  what  I  do  understand,  and  let  the  rest  go." 

Oh,  my  dear  grandfather!  was  there  ever  a  simpler, 
truer  soul  than  thine  caught  in  the  coils  of  "  the  hand- 
maid?" 

I  felt  my  objections  unconsciously  melting  before 
such  simplicity,  such  kindness  and  candor,  as  snow 

NOTE  13.  —  "  From  the  commencement  of  the  world  we  may  trace  the  founda- 
tion of  Masonry.  Ever  since  symmetry  began  and  harmony  displayed  her 
charms  our  order  has  had  a  being. "  WeWs\Monitor^  page  1 ;  Sickels's  Ahiman 
Rezon,  page  14;  Sickel^s  Masonic  Monitor,  page  9.  'A belief  In  the  Antiquity 
of  Masonry  Is  the  first  requisite  of  a  good  teacher.  Upon  this  all  the  legends  of 
the  order  are  based.  The  dignity  of  the  Institution  depends  mainly  upon  its  age, 
and  to  disguise  its  gray  hairs  is  to  expose  it  to  a  contemptuous  comparison  with 
every  society  of  modern  date."— flote  by  Robert  Morris,  page  1,  Webb's  Mon- 
itor. 


A   TALK  WITH  MY  GRANDFATHER.  37 

melts  under  a  spring  sun.  After  all,  could  there  be 
inherent  evil  in  Masonry  when  such  a  man  as  he.  up- 
right, benevolent,  doing  his  duty  to  God  and  his 
neighbor,  so  far  as  he  knew  it,  saw  none  ?  If  the  read- 
er is  tempted  to  ask  the  same  question,  let  me  in  return 
put  to  him  another:  In  the  days  when  human  slavery 
lay  like  a  pall  over  our  land,  were  there  no  apologists 
for  the  terrible  system,  as  kind,  as  candid,  as  Christian 
as  was  my  grandfather? 

Joe,  contrary  to  my  expectations,  had  not  tried  to 
annoy  me  with  any  of  his  mysterious  inuendoes;  and, 
acting  on  the  wise  old  adage,  to  let  "sleeping  dogs 
alone,"  I  concluded  that  it  would  be  best  on  the  whole 
to  let  him  enjoy  his  secret  unmolested.  That  he  had 
overheard  the  talk  of  some  careless  Masons  who  had 
neglected  to  "  tyle "  their  doors  properly  against 
"cowans  and  eavesdroppers  "  seemed  the  most  probable 
way  of  explaining  it;  and,  truth  to  tell,  I  shrank  from 
a  contest  with  Joe  in  which  I  was  very  likely  to  come 
off  second  best. 

I  was  much  more  troubled  to  think  what  I  should 
say  to  Mark,  especially  as  I  saw  him  just  then  crossing 
the  fields,  and  knew  that  though  he  had  come  ostensi- 
bly on  some  errand  of  the  farm,  his  real  object  was  to 
have  a  talk  with  me.  And  so  it  proved. 

u  Mother  wants  to  know  if  Uncle  Severns  has  got  a 
setting  hen  he'd  like  to  part  with.  One  that  she  put 
some  eggs  under  the  other  day  is  flighty,  and  keeps 
leaving  her  nest." 

We  went  out  to  the  barn  together  and  a  hen  of  the 
desired  proclivities  being  duly  selected,  Mark,  holding 
his  captive  fast,  turned  to  me  with  an  expectant — 
"Well?" 


CHAPTER   V. 

PREPARATION  FOR  A  JOURNEY. — u  PASSED  AND  RAISED/' 

HAT  do  you  want  me  to  tell  you?"     I 
asked. 

"None  of  the  secrets,  of  course;  but 
I  thought  you  might  give  me  some  gen- 
eral idea  of  the  nature  of  the  obligations 
without  disclosing  anything." 

"  That's  exactly  what  I  can't  do,"  I  an- 
swered, promptly.  "  The  obligations14  them- 
selves are  a  part  of  the  secret.11 
Mark's  countenance  fell  perceptibly.  He  stood  still 
for  a  moment,  softly  stroking  the  brown  feathers  of 
the  hen,  which  gently  pecked  at  his  hand  and  gave 
sundry  low,  pleased  cackles  in  response  to  his  rather 
abstracted  caresses.  Then  with  a  sudden  brightening 
of  his  face  he  looked  up  and  said: 

11  Anyhow,  you  can  tell  me  one  thing.  Are  you  glad 
or  sorry  you  have  joined  the  lodge?" 

He  had  put  the  test  question.  I  might  nave  shirKed 
it  by  some  cowardly  evasion,  but  I  thank  God — him 
alone,  for  it  was  no  courage  of  mine — that  I  never 
thought  of  doing  so. 

u  Mark.1'  I  answered,  "  when  a  thing  is  done  and 
there  is  no  going  back,  regrets  are  not  of  much  use. 
But  I  want  to  tell  you  now  that  Masonry  is  not  in  the 
least  what  I  thought  it  was,  and  when  you  come  to  find 

NOTE  14.  —  "  It  Is  the  obligation  which  makes  the  Mason.  ''—Morris11  Diction- 
ary. Art.  Obligation. 


"PASSED  AND  RAISED/'  39 

out  what  it  really  is  you  will  be  more  disappointed  than 
J  am,  because  you  expected  more.  And  this  is  about 
all  I  am  able  to  tell  you." 

"But  then/'  said  Mark,  after  an  instant's  thought, 
"  you  must  remember  that  you  have  only  taken  the 
first  degree;  perhaps  that  is  the  reason  it  disappoints 
you.  If  we  judged  everything  by  its  beginning  our 
judgments  would  be  very  partial  and  biased,  and  lead 
us  to  utterly  wrong  conclusions  in  the  majority  of 
cases." 

Though  the  more  I  thought  about  it  the  more  re- 
pugnant grew  the  idea  of  letting  Mark,  with  his 
nervous  system  as  finely  toned  and  delicate  as  a 
woman's,  enter  the  lodge  without  any  notion  of  the 
ordeal  he  must  pass  through.  How  could  I  utter  a 
syllable  to  warn  him;  with  the  iron  grip  of  .that  terri- 
ble vow  binding  me  to  perpetual  silence?  And  what 
added  to  my  perplexity,  I  did  not  feel  prepared,  since 
that  talk  with  my  grandfather,  to  call  the  system  evil, 
and  entirely  evil.  I  had  only  taken  the  first  degree,  as 
Mark  said,  and  it  was  not  impossible  that  by  going 
farther  and  deeper  into  it  I  might  find  my  previous 
Impressions  entirely  altered;  for  I  felt  much  as  Rachel 
did,  that  my  grandfather,  though  an  untaught  layman 
who  had  followed  the  seas  most  of  his  life,  in  his  sim- 
ple-hearted goodness  actually  stood  on  a  far  higher 
level  of  Christian  attainment  than  our  formal  and  per- 
functory Elder. 

Let  the  reader  bear  in  mind  that  at  this  period  Ma- 
sonry was  a  power  that,  according  to  one  of  its  own 
orators,  "  stood  behind  the  sacred  desk,  sat  in  the  chair 
of  justice,  and  exercised  its  controlling  influence  in 
executive  halls."  a  factor  of  unknown  quantities  that 


40  HOLDER  WITH  CORDS. 

entered  more  or  less  into  every  problem  of  the  day, 
social  or  political,  and  he  will  understand  one  reason 
why  it  was  so  seldom  denounced  as  a  moral  evil.  True, 
some  exceptionally  bold  spirit  here  and  there  had  the 
courage  to  protest,  but  his  witness  generally  fell  power- 
less between  the  horns  of  two  opposing  dilemmas;  for 
either  he  was  or  was  not  a  member  of  the  lodge,  obliged 
in  the  one  case  to  withhold  his  real  reasons  for  de- 
nouncing it,  because  those  reasons  were  themselves  a 
very  important  part  of  the  secrets  his  oath  required 
him  to  keep;  or,  on  the  other  hand,  forced  to  base  his 
opinions  of  the  system  almost  wholly  on  the  little  he 
could  see  of  its  outside  workings. 

While  I  was  thinking  what  to  say  to  Mark,  Joe's  in- 
separable companion,  Sport,  a  brown  and  white  puppy 
of  no  species  in  particular,  ran  in  and  began  to  smell 
frantically  about  the  floor,  then  giving  one  joyons  yelp 
and  bark  dashed  into  a  corner  behind  me,  and  tearing 
away  the  hay,  disclosed  Joe  himself  in  his  retreat, 
which,  to  do  him  justice,  he  had  chosen  for  purposes  of 
privacy  rather  than  eavesdropping.  For  among  other 
inconvenient  traits  incident  to  his  age  and  disposition, 
he  had  a  habit  of  shirking  any  irksome  or  unsavory 
task  about  the  farm  by  absenting  himself  in  the  man- 
ner above  described.  And  thus  he  had  overheard  all 
our  conversation. 

I  regret  to  say  that  I  immediately  collared  Joe  with 
the  intent  to  give  him  a  shaking,  but  as  Mark,  who 
had  much  the  same  liking  for  him  that  he  might  have 
felt  for  a  mischievous  monkey,  good-naturedly  inter- 
posed in  his  behalf,  I  finally  released  the  young  gentle- 
man, after  darkly  promising  that  uhe  would  catch  it 
another  time." 


''PASSED   AXD  RAISED."  41 

Mark  went  off  with  his  hen  under  his  arm,  perplexed, 
curious  and  dissatisfied.  I  must  confess  that  it  was  a 
relief  to  me  to  have  our  conversation  broken  off.  At 
the  same  time  it  was  plainly  evident  that  I  could  not 
guard  my  Masonic  jewels  any  too  carefully  from  the 
unscrupulous  Joe. 

At  that  moment  Sam  Toller,  pitchfork  in  hand, 
looked  in  at  the  barn  door. 

"  Yer  gran'ther  wants  ye,  Leander,  right  off." 
"  Do  you  know  what  for,  Sam?"  I  asked,  rather  sur- 
prised at  this  sudden  summons. 

u  Wall,  I  couldn't  say  for  sartin.  May  be  he's  got 
some  news  to  tell  you.  He  kinder  looked  as  though  he 
had.  And,  come  to  think  on't,  I  saw  the  postman 
leave  suthin'  about  an  hour  ago." 

Sam's  Yankee  faculty  for  guessing,  and  generally 
guessing  right,  whether  it  concerned  the  weather,  or 
the  crops,  or  human  doings  in  general,  was  seldom  at 
fault.  It  was  not  in  the  present  instance. 

MJT  grandfather  held  a  certain  land  claim  in  western 
Pennsylvania,  and  the  important  news  was  this:  There 
was  now  an  opportunity  for  selling  the  land  at  a  great 
advance  on  the  original  price,  so  great  indeed  as  almost 
to  make  our  fortune,  as  fortunes  went  in  those  primi- 
tive times.  Furthermore,  as  doing  business  by  corre- 
spondence was  slow,  troublesome  and  unsafe,  our 
present  perfect  mail  system  being  then  in  embryo,  and 
as  there  were  also  sharpers  in  the  land  in  those  days, 
human  nature  being  much  the  same  in  1825  that  it  is 
in  1882,  it  seemed  highly  necessary  that  some  member 
of  the  family  should  go  in  person  to  negotiate  the  sale. 
My  grandfather  adjusted  his  spectacles  at  exactly  the 
right  angle,  and  gave  the  letter  one  more  careful  and 


42  HOLDER  WITH  CORDS. 

deliberate  reading.  Then  he  folded  it  up  and  turned 
to  me. 

"Yott  must  be  the  one  to  attend  to  this  business, 
Leander;  I  see  no  other  way.  I've  always  calculated 
on  giving  you  and  Rachel  something  to  start  with 
when  you  are  married,  instead  of  leaving  it  all  to  you 
in  my  will,  and  this'll  come  very  handy  now.  It's 
something  of  a  responsibility,  I  know,  to  put  on  young 
shoulders,  and  if  you  were  like  Mark  Stedman,  with 
your  mind  in  the  clouds  half  the  time,  I  shouldn't  feel 
easy  to  trust  you.  Not  but  what  Mark  is  as  good  a 
fellow  as  ever  breathed,  and  knows  enough  to  be  a 
minister,  only  when  it  comes  to  doing  business  it  needs 
a  level  head." 

My  grandfather's  decision  was  ratified  in  a  solemn 
family  council  held  at  dinner,  when  the  subject  was 
discussed  in  all  its  phases  and  bearings,  the  only  oppos- 
ing voice  being  my  gentle  widowed  mother's,  who  saw 
only  danger  and  death  for  me  in  the  enterprise. 

"0,  I  can't  let  Leander  go!"  she  cried.  "  He  will 
certainly  be  killed  by  the  Indians." 

"  Poh !"  said  my  grandfather.  u  What  are  you  think- 
ing of,  Belinda?  There  are  no  Indians  about  there  now. 
He  will  be  in  a  sight  more  danger  from  painters  and  rat- 
tlesnakes. Not  that  /  ever  saw  rattlesnakes  anywhere 
else  as  thick  as  I've  seen  'em  right  here  in  this  very 
township.  Why,  I  remember  when  we  first  came  here 
a  party  of  us  went  out  and  killed  twenty  in  one  after- 
noon." 

Whereupon  Sam  Toller — for  in  true  democratic 
fashion  master  and  servant  eat  at  one  table — proceeded 
to  match  this  story  with  another  which  I  will  not  mar 
by  trying  to  repeat.  Sam  was  renowned  far  and  near 


"PASSED   AND  RAISED."  43 

for  his  snake  stories."  While  nobody  could  relate 
tougher  ones,  he  had  the  true  artist  instinct,  and  knew 
just  how  to  mingle  fact  and  fiction  so  nicely  that  it  was 
impossible  to  tell  where  the  one  began  and  the  other 
left  off.  Even  my  grandfather  listened  with  indulgent 
interest,  but  my  mother  gave  rather  absent  attention, 
and  as  soon  as  Sam  finished  started  a  fresh  cause  for 
alarm. 

u  There  are  worse  things  than  painters  or  rattle- 
snakes. What  if  he  should  be  robbed  and  murdered 
coming  home?" 

u  Belinda,"  and  my  grandfather  spoke  gravely  and 
solemnly,  "  this  business  has  got  to  be  attended  to.  I 
hate  to  have  Leander  go,  but  there  seems  to  be  no  other 
way  to  do.  He  is  the  staff  of  my  old  age,  but  there  is 
One  in  whose  keeping  I  can  safely  trust  him." 

And  Miss  Nabby  Loker,  my  mother's  prime  minister 
in  all  domestic  affairs,  and  despotic,  as  prime  ministers 
are  apt  to  be,  put  in  her  word  of  consolation. 

"  After  all,  Mrs.  Severns,  I  wouldn't  worry.  If 
anybody  is  foreordained  to  be  killed,  staying  at  home 
won't  help  it  any,  and  if  they  are  foreordained  to  die  a 
natural  death,  why,  it'll  be  so  even  if  they  go  to  the 
world's  ends.  There's  a  sight  o'  comfort  now  in  that 
doctrine.  I  wonder  folks  don't  see  it  more.  It  makes 
you  feel  so  easy 'like  to  know  that  everything  is  all 
decreed  beforehand." 

As  my  grandfather  leaned  towards  Methodism,  his 
ideas  of  free  grace  and  Miss  Loker's  rigid  Calvinistic 
interpretation  of  the  Divine  decrees  often  came  in  con- 
flict; but  now  he  offered  no  word,  either  of  contradic- 
tion or  comment,  but  sat  with  his  gray  head  bowed  in 
silent  reverie:  possibly  prayer.  It  may  have  occurred 


44  fiOLDEH  WITH  CORDS. 

to  liiin  that  even  so  stern  and  forbidding  a  doctrine 
might  be  a  refuge  to  the  troubled  soul  in  hours  like  this. 
There  are  times  when  it  is  good  to  feel  that  underneath 
God's  love  and  tenderness  is  an  infinite  knowledge,  em- 
bracing all  our  future  life,  our  down-sittings  and  up- 
risings from  the  cradle  to  the  grave,  and  even  beyond 
into  that  dim  eternity  which  bounds  all  mortal  vision. 

Rachel  took  the  news  very  quietly.  Like  all  self- 
contained  natures  her  feelings  showed  very  little  on  the 
surface. 

"  It  is  your  duty  to  go,  Leander,  and  that  settles  it. 
I  am  sorry  your  poor  mother  feels  so  worried.  She  ex- 
aggerates the  dangers.  I  have  no  doubt  you  will  come 
home  all  safe  and  quite  a  hero/' 

"And  then?"— 

I  looked  up  at  Rachel  questioningly.  She  under- 
stood me,  for  a  little  wave  of  color  rushed  over  cheek 
and  brow.  But  there  was  not  a  shade  of  coquetry 
about  Rachel.  In  her  sweet,  pure  nature  there  was  no 
room  for  such  a  thing. 

"  As  soon  as  you  get  home,  Leander;"  she  quietly 
answered. 

And  so  our  wedding  day  was  fixed.  It  was  to  be  the 
sixteenth  of  September — Rachel's  birthday. 

Sam  Toller  duly  spread  abroad  the  tidings  of  my  pro- 
jected journey,  in  which  the  whole  village  took  a  de- 
cided interest  not  at  all  strange  under  the  circumstances. 

As  my  grandfather  was  liked  by  every  man,  woman 
and  child — and  I  might  safely  add  the  very  dogs  in 
Brownsville — everj^body  was  full  of  good  wishes  and 
kindly  advisings,  given  in  the  hearty,  neighborly  fash- 
ion of  rural  communities,  where  the  weal  and  woe  of 
the  individual  is  considered  part  and  parcel  of  the  whole. 


45 

Among  others  who  came  in  to  talk  over  the  impor- 
tant matter  was  Deacon  Brown,  a  man  of  much  influ- 
ence, both  in  the  church  and  out  of  it.  Not  only  was 
our  village  named  for  him,  and  its  every  post  of  trust 
and  honor  filled  by  him  at  various  times,  but  he  had 
been  twice  elected  to  the  State  Legislature. 

Being  an  enthusiastic  Mason  himself,  when  the  talk 
turned,  as  it  naturally  did,  on  the  length  and  possible 
perils  of  the  journey,  he  at  once  adverted  to  my  having 
lately  joined  the  fraternity  as  a  particularly  good  thing 
at  this  juncture. 

"  Only  he  ought  to  take  the  two  upper  degrees  be- 
fore he  starts;  decidedly,  he  ought  to." 

"  You  are  quite  right,  Deacon,"  answered  my  grand- 
father: "I  have  told  him  myself  that  to  get  the  full 
benefits  of  belonging  to  the  order  he  must  go  as  high 
as  the  Master  Mason's15  degree.  You  must  urge  it  on 
him.  The  words  of  a  man  like  you,  now.  might  have 
a  good  deal  of  influence  with  him." 

The  Deacon  was  used  to  such  gentle,  unconscious 
flattery  from  his.  townsmen  and  turned  to  me  with  a 
fatherly  smile. 

kt  You  must  listen  to  your  grandfather,  Leander.  You 
are  not  at  liberty  to  neglect  such  an  important  duty; 
such  a  shield  against  all  manner  of  unknown  perils. 
You  owe  something  to  your  friends  if  you  don't  to 
yourself.  Why,  nobody  knows  or  ever  can  know  how 
many  lives  Masonry  has  saved,"  he  added,  waxing  en- 
thusiastic over  his  pet  institution.  u  IVe  heard  of  even 
pirates  and  highway  robbers  that  respected  the  Masonic 
sign  and,  when  it  was  given,  treated  those  they  had 
been  laying  out  to  rob  and  murder  like  brothers.  But 
I  don't  mean,"  explained  the  worthy  Deacon  with  :i 

NOTE  15.— "Entered  Apprentices  are  possessed  of  very  few  rights,      *        * 
arc  not  permitted  to  speak  or  vote  or  hold  anv  office  ;    secrecy  and  obedience  are 
tlie  only  obligations  imposed  upon  them. "— Mackey's  Jurisprudence,  p.  159. 


46  HOLDER   WITH   COBDS. 

sudden  remembrance  of  the  possible  interpretation 
which  un-Masonic  ears  might  put  upon  this  statement, 
"  that  a  lodge  would  ever  take  in  such  characters, 
knowingly.  Even  the  church  cannot  always  keep  out 
unworthy  members,  so  I  have  no  doubt  some  have 
joined  the  Masons  who  became  robbers  and  pirates 
afterwards,  and  yet  had  enough  of  conscience  left  not 
to  dare  violate  their  oath." 

Remembering  the  awful  nature  of  that  oath,  as  it  had 
been  imposed  on  me,  I  found  no  difficulty  in  believing 
that  it  might  have  acted  as  a  restraint  on  Captain  Kidd 
himself,  had  that  worthy  ever  joined  the  fraternity,  of 
which  I  was  doubtful. 

As  the  highest  Masonic  authority  gravely  holds  out, 
among  the  various  inducements  of  the  order,  its  power 
"to  introduce  you  to  the  fellowship  of  pirates,  corsairs 
and  other  marauders,"  let  not  the  innocent-minded 
reader  conceive  any  ill  opinion  of  Deacon  Brown  for 
doing  the  same  thing;  nor  think  it  strange  that,  urged 
by  him  and  entreated  by  my  grandfather,  who  was  not 
quite  willing  to  leave  his  favorite  grandson  to  the  shield 
of  Omnipotence  alone,  I  consented  to  take  the  upper 
degrees  and  was  duly  "  passed  and  raised  "  to  the  Sub- 
lime Degree  of  a  Master  Mason,  with  all  the  privileges 
appertaining  thereunto — among  them  that  of  consort- 
ing on  brotherly  terms  with  "  the  pirates  and  corsairs  " 
aforesaid. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

.N   EVENING  WITH   KACHEL.. 

WAS  going  to  take   the  journey   on 
horseback;    and    Major,    a    fine,    fleet, 
spirited  animal  raised  on  the  farm,  was 
the  one  selected  by  my  grandfather  as 
best  fitted  in  qualities  of  speed   and   en- 
durance to  bear  me  successfully  on  the  ex- 
pedition. 

They  all  gathered  round  to  say  "  Good-bye," 
and  see  me  off — the  dear  home  faces  transfig- 
ured with  the  love  and  tenderness  of  parting.  Even 
Joe,  though  he  had  so  often  been  an  aggravating  thorn 
in  the  side  of  his  more  sedate  elder  brother,  now  looked 
almost  manly  in  his  new  gravity  and  soberness.  So 
much  so  that  I  bent  down  and  whispered  to  him,  as  he 
stood  giving  Major  a  farewell  pat: 

u  Dear  Joe,  I  hope  I  shall  come  back  all  safe,  but  if  I 
don't — if  anything  happens  to  me — take  good  care  of 
our  mother  and  grandfather.  Don't  let  them  want  for 
anything,  but  be  their  pnop  and  stay  instead  of  me." 

"  Oh,  Leander,  don't  talk  in  that  way!"  sobbed  Joe, 
who  was  as  warm-hearted  as  he  was  provoking.  "  I 
want  to  tell  you  now  before  you  go  off,  I'm  real  sorry 
for  all  the  mean,  aggravating  tricks  I've  played  off  on 
you,  and  1  want  you  to  forgive  me/' 

Forgive  Joe!    Yes,  until  seventy  times  seven!    Nor 


48  HOLDER  WITH   CORDS. 

was  it  any  check  on  the  freeness  and  fullness  of  my 
forgiveness  that  I  knew  very  well  Joe's  repentance 
would  last  as  long  as  my  absence  by  the  calendar,  and 
not  a  day  longer. 

I  had  bid  good-bye  to  Rachel  the  night  before.  What 
we  said  I  will  not  write  here,  for  I  am  afraid  the  reader 
will  not  be  interested  in  our  lover's  plannings  for  the 
future,  or  all  the  little  things  as  important  to  us  as  the 
bits  of  straw  to  nest-building  birds,  which,  with  provi- 
dent New  England  forecast,  Rachel  was  already  be- 
ginning to  gather  together  in  reference  to  our  future 
home,  and  now  showed  me  with  a  pretty  pride  in  her 
own  economy  and  thrift.  There  was  an  old  arm  chair 
that  she  had  stuffed  and  covered  with  her  own  fingers, 
till  it  was  the  perfection  of  coziness  and  comfort;  a 
stand  bought  at  a  bargain,  which  would  be  just  right 
to  hold  the  family  Bible;  and  such  stores  of  linen 
table  cloths  and  towels  of  her  own  weaving,  wonderful 
to  behold  in  their  exquisite  fineness  and  whiteness. 

Yes,  Rachel  and  I  loved  each  other  with  that  pure, 
honest  love,  which  I  am  afraid  is  not  as  common  now 
as  it  ought  to  be,  but  which,  whenever  I  see  it,  makes 
me  feel  as  if  a  flower  from  Eden  had  suddenly  blossomed 
in  my  path.  Yet  Eden  had  its  serpent. 

There  was  one  subject  avoided  by  both  of  us  with  a 
kind  of  instinct.  I  had  advanced  to  the  third  degree 
in  Masonry  only  to  find  my  £rst  experience  repeated; 
to  be  disappointed  and  astonished  at  the  infinitessimal 
smallness  of  the  secrets  revealed,  and  bewildered  with 
the  'general  mixture  of  solemnity  and  puerility  which 
characterized  the  ceremonies.  But  I  had  come  to  the 
conclusion  that  so  long  as  I  was  fairly  in,  with  no  pros- 
pect of  getting  out,  I  would  make  the  best  of  it  by 


AH   EVENING   WITH  RACHEL.  49 

reaping  all  the  advantages  I  possibly  could  from  my 
connection  with  the  order.  My  self-satisfaction,  how- 
ever, was  much  disturbed  by  Rachel's  negative  disap- 
proval, which  I  felt,  like  a  kind  of  Mordecai  in  the 
gates,  that  would  neither  bow  down  nor  do  homage. 

"  You  must  see,  Rachel,"  I  said,  with  the  hope  of 
getting  her  to  say  something  favorable,  "  that  my  join- 
ing the  Masons  is  a  very  good  thing  now.  I  may  be 
placed  in  circumstances  where  I  shall  need  assistance 
that  no  mere  stranger,  uninfluenced  by  any  such  tie, 
would  be  likely  to  render." 

Rachel  took  a  moment  to  consider,  and  then,  instead 
of  giving  me  any  direct  answer,  turned  around  with  the 
rather  startling  inquiry: 

u  Do  you  suppose  the  Good  Samaritan  was  a  Free- 
mason?" 

"  What  an  idea,  Rachel!1' 

"I  don't  see  anything  so  very  strange  about  it. 
Didn't  Elder  Gushing  tell  us  when  Uncle  Jerry  died, 
and  had  that  great  Masonic  funeral,  that  Masonry  was 
many  hundred  years  older  than  the  time  of  Christ? 
Didn't  he  tell  us  that  John  the  Baptist  and  ever  so 
many  others,  way  back  to  Hiram  and  Solomon,  were 
Masons?  So  the  Good  Samaritan  might  easily  have 
been  one,  only  I  am  certain  he  wasn't." 

u  Why  not?"  I  inquired,  curious  to  see  by  what  style 
of  reasoning  she  would  prove  her  point. 

ujust  because  our  Savior  holds  him  up  as  an  ex- 
ample of  the  purest  benevolence  for  all  mankind  to 
imitate,  which  he  certainly  never  would  have  done  had 
there  been  any  tie  between  the  Samaritan  and  that 
poor  wounded  Jew,  other  than  just  their  common  hu- 
manity; for  then  it  would  not  have  been  benevolence, 


50  HOLDER   WITH   CORDS. 

but  a  mere  sense  of  honor  or  duty,  or  some  such  thing, 
quite  different  from  charity.  Don't  you  see?" 

I  did  see,  and  for  the  first  time  felt  a  little  vexed  at 
Rachel's  clearsightedness.  I  had  been  rather  fascinated, 
to  tell  the  truth,  with  the  brotherly  love,  so  strongly 
inculcated  among  lodge  duties, — the  only  thing  about 
Masonry,  by  the  way,  which  had  as  yet  very  much 
commended  itself  to  either  my  conscience  or  common 
sense. 

"  It  seems  to  me,  Rachel,  you  are  straying  wide  of  the 
subject,"  I  said,  impatiently.  "  Why  do  you  evade  a 
plain  question?  I  only  asked  if  you  did  not  think  it  a 
good  thing  under  the  present  circumstances." 

"  Oh,  I  dare  say,"  answered  Rachel,  indifferently,  as 
if  she  did  not  care  to  discuss  the  subject.  And  then 
she  went  and  stood  at  the  window  a  moment,  silently 
gazing  out  at  the  starlit  sky. 

A  vein  of  mingled  poetry  and  humor,  bubbling  up  in 
'all  manner  of  unexpected  ways  and  places,  gave  to 
Rachel's  character  a  sort  of  piquant  charm.  I  think 
now  she  resembled  as  much  as  anything  a  New 
England  huckleberry  pasture,  rich  with  every  kind  of 
wild,  sweet,  homely  growth — hardback  and  sweet  fern 
and  blackberry  vines  full  of  sharp  little  briars,  all 
tangled  in  together. 

u  Now,  Leander,"  she  sa.id,  suddenly  pointing  up  to 
the  sky,  "  1  am  going  to  give  you  something  to  remem- 
ber me  by.  I  shall  choose  a  star  and  call  it  mine,  and 
whenever  you  see  it  shine  out  you  must  think,  ;  That's 
Rachel's  star.1  But  which  shall  it  be?"  And  she 
stood  in  a  pretty,  reflective  attitude,  with  upraised 
eyes,  scanning  the  airy  vault.  Then  she  clapped  her 
hands  gleefully. 


AX  EVENING  WITH  RACAEL.  51 

"There,  I  have  it!"  she  exclaimed.  ''Don't  you  rt- 
m ember  when  we  were  children,  coming  home  from 
school  hot  and  thirsty,  we  used  to  think  the  water  at 
the  Widow  Slocum's  was  better  than  anywhere  else,  for 
no  earthly  reason  than  because  she  always  gave  it  to 
us  in  a  new  tin  dipper,  so  bright  we  could  see  our  faces 
in  it?  Thinking  of  that  has  put  it  into  my  head  what 
I  will  choose — the  constellation  of  the  Dipper.  It  has 
such  a  housewifely,  practical  sound,  too;  just  the  thing." 

And  Rachel  laughed  her  sweet,  low,  musical  laugh, 
in  which,  as  I  had  now  forgotten  my  momentary  vexa- 
tion with  her,  I  could  not  help  joining.  But  she 
Suddenly  sobered,  and  turned  away  from  the  window 
with  eyes  suspiciously  bright  in  the  star  gleam. 

"Sometimes  I  have  thought  it  wrong  for  me  to  pray," 
she  said,  "because  I  am  not  a  Christian;  but  I  shall 
pray — that  God  will  guard  you  from  every  danger,  and 
I  think  he  will  hear  me,  though  I  am  not  'a  believer.' 
as  they  call  it.  But  oh,  I  wish  I  was!  I  think  I  might 
be  one  if  I  had  somebody  to  tell  me  how.  I  tried  to 
talk  with  Elder  Cushing  once,  but  what  he  said  to  me 
might  as  well  have  been  so  much  Hebrew.  It  was  all 
about  'saving  faith,'  'sanetification'  and  'assurance,'  and 
such  things  that  I  could  not  understand  in  the  least,  or 
see  how  I  could  eveT  make  them  have  any  practical 
connection  with  my  homely,  actual,  every-day  life.  I 
suppose,  these  things  are  really  necessary  before  one  can 
be  a  Christian,  but  they  seem  to  me  as  far  off  and  as 
hard  to  reach  as  the  very  stars  shining  up  there.  Of 
course,  it  is  not  really  so,  or  else  nobody  could  be  a 
Christian.  I  suppose  the  fault  is  all  in  me — that  I 
might  have  them  if  I  would.  But  it  seems  to  me  that 
I  am  willing,  and  all  I  want  is  to  find  somebody  that 


52  HOLDEK  WITH   CORDS. 

knows  how  to  begin  low  down,  and  teach  me  as  they 
teach  the  primer  to  little  children." 

While  nothing  in  my  own  heart  answered  to  Rachel's 
longings,  I  was  touched  by  the  pathos  in  her  cry,  and 
felt  something  like  indignation  at  Elder  Cushing's  utter 
inability  to  help  her.  For  what  right  had  a  man  to 
stand  where  he  did  and  yet  have  no  word  of  heavenly 
counsel  that  a  simple,  honest  soul  like  Rachel's  could 
appropriate  to  her  spiritual  needs?  When  she  asked 
for  bread— when,  in  the  humility  of  her  soul-hunger, 
she  would  have  been  glad  of  the  very  crumbs  of  Grospel 
truth — why  did  he  give  her  a  stone? 

It  is  but  fair  to  say  that  Elder  Gushing  had  no  direct, 
intention  of  thus  mocking  her  needs;  no  thought  of 
bringing  down  on  himself  the  old  prophet's  terrible 
denunciation,  "Woe  to  the  idle  shepherd  that  leaveth 
the  flock."  But  did  he  never  sorrow  in  secret  over  his 
fruitless,  barren  ministry?  Was  he  satisfied  that  while 
the  lodge  grew  and  prospered  the  church  received  next 
to  none  into  its  fold?  Did  no  thought  cross  his  mind 
that,  professed  minister  of  Jesus  Christ  though  he  was, 
he  served  at  a  strange  altar — that  he  even  took  of  its 
unhallowed  fires,  and  in  the  very  temple  of  Jehovah 
offered  profane  incense  in  praise  of  another  God? 

I  dare  not  say. 

Long  years  ago  Elder  Gushing  went  where  mortal 
judgment  has  neither  right  nor  the  power  to  follow  him; 
but  let  the  "foolish  shepherds"  of  a  later  day  heed  these 
woids  of  warning  from  another  plain  old  prophet: 

Thus  saith  the  Lord  God,  Behold  I  am  against  the 
shepherds,  and  I  will  require  my  flock  at  their  hands. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

A  CERTAIN  MAN  WENT  DOWN  FROM  JERICHO. 

HE  parting  fairly  over,  my  spirits  went 
up  like  the  barometer  before  a  clearing 
norVest  wind.      The  going    forth  like 
the  hero  in  a  fairy  tale  to  seek  my  for- 
tune had  a  pleasurable    excitement    that 
buoyed  me  up  through  the  first  part  of  the 
expedition,  and  made  me  insensible  to  most  of 
the  discomforts  and  fatigues  which  a  journey  of 
any  length  in  those  days  almost  necessarily  involved. 

But  I  had  never  any  difficulty  in  obtaining  a  night's 
shelter  even  when  tavern  accommodations  failed  me,  as 
they  often  did  in  that  new,  sparsely  settled  country; 
for  among  the  rough  but  kindly  farmers,  hospitality 
was  the  rule  and  its  opposite  the  exception.  Thus  the 
first  part  of  my  journey  was  utterly  devoid  of  those 
situations  in  which  the  Masonic  rites  and  privileges 
with  which  I  had  been  lately  invested  are  peculiarly 
valuable;  and  a  certain  pride  and  self-respect,  the  re- 
sult of  my  New  England  birth  and  breeding,  kept  me 
from  claiming  them  when  there  was  no  urgent  call  for 
so  doing. 

Near  the  Ohio  boundary  I  stopped  at  a  cabin  situated 
in  the  middle  of  a  small  clearing,  but  with  no  sign  of 
any  other  human  habitation  near,  to  inquire  my  wayv 
of  which  I  felt  doubtful..  Dogs,  little  and  big,  rushed 


54  HOLDEN   WITH   COEDS. 

out  as  I  rode  up,  barking  defiance  in  various  keys,  from 
the  shrill  yelp  of  the  smaller  curs  to  the  deeper  and 
more  threatening  bass  of  their  leaders;  but  an  old  man 
sitting  on  a  log  outside,  smoking  his  pipe,  came  forward 
and  hospitably  dispersed  the  dogs  with  an  oath  here 
and  a  kick  there — all  but  one,  who  seemed  to  be  a 
privileged  character,  a  cross  between  the  bull  and 
mastiff  breed,  and  as  surly  as  the  captain  of  a  regiment 
of  Bashi-bazouks. 

The  whole  place  was  repulsive — its  owner  no  less  so. 
Rum-soaked,  tobacco-soaked,  he  was  the  very  picture 
of  a  hoary-headed  old  sinner;  I  could  not  bear  to  look 
at  him. 

"  Fine  beast,  that  o'  yours,'1  he  said,  admiringly, 
eying  my  horse,  "  but  looks  kinder  jaded.  Been  far  to 
day?1' 

"  Quite  a  piece,"  I  said,  feeling  disposed  to  be  laconic. 
"  Can  you  tell  me  if  I  am  on  the  right  road  to  Lundy's 
Settlement?11 

"  Lundy's  Settlement?  Ye  ain't  reckonin1  to  git 
thar  to-night?'1 

I  answered  in  the  affirmative,  feeling  that  I  should 
infinitely  prefer  spending  the  night  out  of  doors  with 
Major  tethered  to  a  tree  than  accept  his  hospitality, 
which,  however,  he  did  not  seem  to  offer. 

"  I  say,  Matt,11  he  called  out,  stepping  back  and 
speaking  to  some  one  within  the  cabin.  "Here's  a 
man  wants  to  go  to  Lundy's  Settlement.  You  kin  tell 
him  about  it  I  reckon."  And  in  answer  to  this  appeal 
u  Matt "  came  out;  but  as  our  conversation  was  mingled 
on  his  part  with  profane  expletives,  many  and  various, 
I  shall  not  record  it  here,  only  to  say  that  it  was  ex- 
tremely unsatisfactory,  for  while  possessing  entire, 


A  CERTAIN  MAN  WENT  DOWN  FROM  JERICHO.          55 

knowledge  of  the  whole  local  geography  of  that  region, 
he  ingeniously  evaded  giving  me  any  direct  information 
regarding  the  points  on  which. I  most  desired  to  be  en- 
lightened. He  was  a  younger  man  than  the  other — 
young  enough  to  be  his  son,  and  of  equally  sinister 
expression.  Indeed  the  relationship  between  them  was 
apparent  at  a  glance. 

4'  He  kin  git  thar  to-night,  dad,"  said  the  worthy, 
finally,  and  tipping  a  sly  wink  in  the  old  man's  direc- 
tion as  he  spoke.  "  There's  a  way  through  the  woods, 
only  its  kinder  lonesome.  Git  out  thar,  you!" 

This  side  remark,  I  must  explain,  was  not  addressed 
to  me,  nor  to  the  paternal  relative,  but  to  the  canine 
Bashi-bazouk,  who  was  smelling  viciously  about  Major's 
BONES.  B}T  putting  a  few  more  questions  I  found  that 
the  "  way  through  the  woods  "  was  a  bridle  path  that 
would  lead  me  out  near  the  river,  on  the  other  side  of 
which  the  settlement  lay,  and  decided  to  take  it  without 
more  ado. 

"  Just  follow  the  road  you  come  on,  straight  along 
till  you  come  to  a  blazed  tree — its  a  big  butternut. 
Turn  in  thar  and  keep  along  till  you  come  to  the  river,'1 
was  the  gist  of  the  directions  given  me  as  I  rode  away, 
which  being* so  plain  and  simple  seemed  hardly  to 
admit  of  mistake,  especially  as  I  found  without  any 
difficulty  the  "  blazed  "  tree  which  was  to  be  my  gui'de 
to  Lundy's  Settlement. 

Innocent  readers  of  more  civilized  regions  and  times 
may  need  to  be  informed  that  the  number  of  "  blazes  " 
on  a  tree — that  is,  where  the  bark  is  chipped  off — also 
their  peculiar  position  on  the  trunk,  whether  horizontal 
or  perpendicular,  formed  a  system  of  directions  for  the 
use  of  the  traveller  as  important  for  him  to  understand 


56  HOLDEN   WITH   CORDS. 

as  the  language  on  the  regular  signboards  in  more 
civilized  parts. 

For  a  while  I  trotted  on  in  good  spirits.  But  the 
woods  grew  denser,  the  shadows  longer,  and  I  halted 
and  looked  about  me  with  a  feeling  of  disheartening 
doubt.  Could  I  have  possibly  mistaken  the  way? 

I  was  about  to  move  on  when  the  woods  to  one  side 
of  me  crackled  sharply.  Several  masked  men  sprang 
out,  and  before  I  could  turn  for  defence  or  parley  I  re- 
ceived a  violent  blow  on  the  head  that  knocked  me 
senseless  from  the  saddle. 

******* 

When  I  awoke  to  consciousness  the  stars  were 
shining.  At  first  I  did  not  try  to  move  but  lay  in  a 
kind  of  stupor,  feeling  curiously  indifferent  to  all  that 
had  happened.  But  as  my  senses  slowly  returned  the 
whole  terror  of  the  situation  rushed  upon  me  like  a 
great  wave.  The  robbers  had  not  only  taken  my  faith- 
ful horse  and  my  trusty  pistol,  but  had  also  taken  every 
cent  of  money  I  had  about  me. 

I  tried  to  sit  up  but  fell  wearily  back  with  a  groan 
of  pain,  wondering  if  there  was  anything  left  for  me 
to  do  but  lay  there,  desolate  and  forsaken,  in  those  wild, 
unknown  woods  till  death  found  me.  But  suddenly 
my  heart  leaped  with  a  new  sense  of  hope.  As  I  gazed 
btankly  upward  I  could  see  shining  down  upon  me,  still 
and  clear,  the  constellation  of  the  Dipper — Rachel's 
chosen  sign.  0  Rachel,  bright,  merry,  housewifely 
Rachel!  What  was  she  doing  now?  Working  some 
pretty  knicknack  for  the  happy  home  that  perhaps 
would  never  be  ours?  drawing  the  needle  in  and  out 
with  bright  visions  of  the  future  ?  "  0  Rachel,  Rachel," 
I  moaned;  and  then,  echoing  in  my  heart  like  an  angel's 


A  CERTAIN  MAN  WENT  DOWN  FROM  JERICHO.  57 

voice,  I  hear  again  her  tearful  words  said  on  the  eve  of 
our  parting:  "I  shall  pray  that  God  will  guard  you 
from  every  danger,  and  I  think  he  will  hear  me." 

I  felt  strangely  comforted!  The  awful  terror  passed 
from  me,  and  in  its  stead  came  a  restful,  soothed  feeling 
almost  like  a  child  on  its  mother's  breast.  And  the 
hours  of  the  night  wore  on,  and  still  I  lay  there 
watched  over  by  Rachel's  starry  sign  that  paled  as  the 
dawn  approached  like  a  beautiful  hope  lost  in  its  own 
fulfillment. 

The  east  grew  pearly  gray,  then  flushed  to  roseate. 
All  about  me  was  the  stir  of  awakening  life.  I  roused 
myself  to  one  more  effort,  and  found  I  could  walk, 
though  with  great  pain  and  difficulty,  for  among  my 
other  injuries  I  had  suffered  a  dislocation  of  the  ankle 
bone,  which  was  the  result  of  falling  from  my  horse 
when  the  sudden  attack  of  the  ruffians  felled  me  to  the 
ground. 

As  I  limped  groaningly  along,  being  obliged  to  sit 
down  and  rest  at  such  frequent  intervals  that  I  made 
small  progress,  the  welcome  sound  of  a  distant  gallop 
struck  my  ear.  It  was  coming  nearer,  and  1  shouted, 
uHelloo!"  with  all  the  strength  of  voice  I  could 
muster. 

"  Helloo!"  was  answered  back,  and  in  an  instant  the 
horseman  had  flung  himself  off  and  was  listening  to 
my  tale  in  much  wonder  and  indignation.  He  wore 
the  common,  rough,  backwoodsman's  dress,  and  his 
black  hair  and  beard  seemed  totally  unacquainted  with 
razors  or  barber's  shears;  but  he  had  very  pleasant 
features,  lit  np  by  an  expression  of  unconscious,  almost 
childlike  goodness,  that  I  secretly  felt  to  be  rare,  and 
was  attracted  to  accordingly. 


58  HOLDER"   WITH   CORDS. 

"Confound  the  mean,  horse-stealing  rascals,"  he  burst 
out  at  last.  "  I  ain't  swearing,  stranger,  though  my 
woman  would  say  I  was.  It  must  have  been  Dick 
Stover's  where  you  stopped.  I  always  suspected  him 
and  his  sons  of  being  in  with  that  gang,  bat  never 
could  get  the  proof.  They  directed  you  right  the  op- 
posite way  from  the  settlement,  and  then  gave  infor- 
mation whereabouts  to  lay  in  wait  for  you  as  you  rode 
along.  I  now  sec  it  all  as  plain  as  a  church 
steeple." 

I  may  as  well  stop  to  explain  that  I  had  suffered  at 
the  hands  of  a  noted  gang  of  horse-thieves,  the  impun- 
ity with  which  they  committed  their  outrages  being 
chiefly  due  to  the  fact  that  they  had  secret  accomplices 
scattered  here  and  there  through  the  settlements. 

u  If  the  folks  in  these  parts  don't  get  stirred  up  a 
trifle  now,  my  name  ain't  Benjamin  Hagan,"  continued 
that  modern  representative  of  the  Good  Samaritan. 
"  But  let  me  help  you  mount  my  beast,  and  we'll  get 
home  as  quick  as  we  can.  You  look  as  though  you 
wanted  a  little  fixing." 

Grave  as  was  the  situation,  it  occurred  to  me  with 
some  sense  of  amusement  that  I  was  pretty  thoroughly 
u  fixed"  already,  being  now  in  circumstances  of  suffi- 
cient distress  to  give  me  an  undoubted  claim  on  the 
charity  of  any  Masonic  brother,  for  it  may  not  be 
known  to  the  general  reader  that  the  style  of  dress,  or 
rather  undress,  imposed  on  every  lodge  candidate  and 
duly  described  in  a  prior  chapter,  is  really  an  object 
lesson,  the  lodge  being  much  given  to  this  peculiar 
method  of  instruction;  and  the  reasons  therefore,  Ma- 
sonically  considered,  are  as  follows:  u  That,  being  an 
object  of  distress  at  the  time,  it  was  to  remind  the 


A  CERTAIN  MAN  WENT  DOWN  FROM  JERICHO.          59 

candidate  if  he  ever  saw  a  brother  in  like  situation  to 
contribute  liberally  to  his  relief." 

Mr.  Hagan's  connection  with  the  fraternity  I  felt  to 
be  a  rather  doubtful  point,  but  I  remembered  that 
among  the  other  bits  of  disinterested  advice  given  me 
before  leaving  home,  I  was  told  that  it  was  always  best 
to  determine,  by  putting  a  direct  question  at  the  out- 
set, whether  or  no  the  person  on  whose  charity  I  might 
happen  to  be  thrown  was  a  Mason.  And  this  question 
I  accordingly  put.  But  instead  of  answering  me  at 
once,  Mr.  Hagan  stared  with  something  between  a 
frown  and  a  smile,  and  then  put  the  return  interroga- 
tory: 

"  Be  you  one?" 

"  Yes,"  I  answered,  rather  faintly. 

u  Then,  stranger,  I  will  give  you  some  advice.  Don't 
go  to  maddening  me  with  any  of  your  grips  and  signs, 
for  I  tell  you  beforehand,  I  ain't  responsive." 

And  having  thus  delivered  himself,  Mr.  Hagan's  face 
resumed  its  usual  serenity  of  expression,  as  he  helped 
me  to  mount,  and  then  led  the  horse  by  the  bridle  for 
about  half  a  mile,  till  he  reached  a  neat,  substantially 
built  log  cabin,  the  front  almost  covered  with  flowering 
vines,  where  "his  woman,"  a  gentle,  dove-like  being, 
who  used  the  Quaker  thee  and  thou,  stood  ready,  as 
soon  as  the  case  was  explained  to  her,  to  lavish  upon 
me  every  motherly  care. 

And  sorely,  indeed,  I  needed  it.  Fever  set  in,  the 
result  of  my  wounds,  and  for  several  days  ran  high. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

MRS.  HAGAN'S   OPINION   OF   ELDER   GUSHING. 

AM  glad  thee  is  feeling  better,  friend 
Leander.  Will  thee  try  some  squirrel 
soup?  It  will  be  nice  and  nourishing 
for  thee." 

This  remark  was  addressed  to  me  by 
Mrs.  Hagan,  one  day  after  I  had  made  con- 
siderable progress  on  the  road  to  convales- 
cence. Dressed  in  the  regulation  gray  of  her 
sect,  with  a  snowy  handkerchief  pinned  across 
her  bosom,  and  on  her  head  the  daintiest  Quaker'  cap', 
which  could  not  quite  confine  the  bright  hair  that 
waved  and  rippled  over  her  forehead  with  most  un- 
Quaker  like  freedom,  my  hostess  was  a  charming 
woman,  as  fitted  to  adorn  a  palace,  had  Providence  seen 
fit  to  place  her  in  one,  as  her  own  log  cabin  home. 

During  my  sickness  I  learned  considerable  about  my 
host  and  his  wife.  They  were  both  communicative  in 
the  easy,  simple-hearted  fashion  which  naturally  begets 
confidence  in  return.  Already  I  had  told  them  all 
about  Rachel,  and  my  engagement  to  her,  to  the  great 
delight  of  the  worthy  couple,  the  history  of  whose  own 
courtship  and  marriage  I  will  now  proceed  to  relate. 

Mr.  Hagan  was  born  in  Virginia,  and  on  the  death 
of  his  father  came  into  possession  of  considerable 
property,  of  which  a  number  of  negro  slaves  formed 


MRS.  HAGAX'S  OPIHlOtf  OF  £Lt)ER  GUSHING.         61 

the  most  valuable  part.  On  a  visit  into  the  bordering 
State  of  Pennsylvania,  he  fell  deeply  in  love  with  a  fair 
young  Quakeress,  who,  though  her  family  were  decided- 
ly against  her  marrying  outside  the  pale  of  Friends, 
seemed  disposed  to  smile  upon  his  suit.  But  on  one 
point  she  stood  firm.  Educated  to  believe  that  human 
slavery  was  a  horrible  system,  replete  with  wrong,  and 
the  grossest  injustice,  she  utterly  refused  to  counte- 
nance it  so  far  as  to  marry  a  slaveholder.  And  as 
fourteen  years  of  service  were  as  nothing  to  Jacob  for 
the  love  he  bore  to  Rachel,  so  the  value  of  his  human 
chattels  were  to  honest  Ben  Hagan  as  the  small  dust 
of  the  balance  compared  to  the  priceless  jewel  of  such 
a  woman's  affection.  Like  the  merchantman  in  the 
parable  he  sold  all  he  had  and  bought  it. 

As  was  natural  with  a  man  of  his  intense  convictions 
it  was  but  a  step  from  ceasing  to  be  a  slaveholder  to 
becoming  an  ardent  Abolitionist,  and  Mr.  Hagan,  by 
his  fierce  denunciations  of  the  system,  soon  made  him- 
self so  unpopular  with  his  neighbors  that  he  was 
finally  glad,  for  more  pressing  reasons  than  poverty— 
for  after  freeing  his  slaves' there  was  not  much  left  of 
the  father's  patrimony — to  leave  Virginia  and  buy  a 
tract  of  land  in  one  of  the  wildest  portions  of  western 
Pennsylvania.  But  the  woman  who  had  urged  him  to 
this  step  for  conscience'  sake  was  not  the  one  to  shrink 
back  from  any  personal  sacrifice  it  might  involve. 
Cheerfully  she  accepted  all  the  hardships  and  privations 
of  that  rough  border  life,  while  her  Quaker  thrift  and 
management  told  in  the  long  run.  Children  were  born 
to  them,  and  a  fair  degree  of  comfort  and  prosperity 
now  bless  their  simple,  God-fearing  lives. 

Mr.   Hagan  had  been  for  a  number  of   years  an 


62  HOLDER  WITH  CORDS. 

itinerant  Methodist  preacher,  whose  services  at  camp- 
meetings  were  in  great  demand,  as  before  his  stentorian 
voice  and  fervid  eloquence  his  simple,  excitable  hearers 
bent  like  a  field  of  corn  before  the  reaper's  scythe;  and 
his  gentle  Quaker  consort  supplemented  his  labors  most 
efficiently,  for  their  seemingly  opposite  faiths,  producing 
no  discord  in  their  lives,  caused  no  separation  in  their 
work.  Her  "inner  light,''  and  his  u  witness  of  the 
Spirit;11  her  Quaker  simplicity  of  speech  and  his  Meth- 
odist fervor,  blended  together  in  delightful  harmony 
like  the  different  parts  in  a  psalm  tune;  though  the 
unregenerate  man  within  him  would  sometimes  crop 
out  in  a  mild  expletive — for  which  she  always  reproved 
him  with  a  gentle,  u  I  am  surprised  at  thee,  Benjamin." 

As  I  was  sipping  the  squirrel  soup,  delicious  in  its 
rich  flavor  and  exact  seasoning,  Mrs.  Hagan  took  out 
her  knitting  and  began  to  engage  me  in  a  talk  about 
Rachel,  which  brought  out  among  other  things  the 
story  of  her  spiritual  difficulties  to  which  she  listened 
with  silent  though  intent  interest. 

"Has  thee  no  minister  in  thy  midst?"  she  finally 
asked. 

U0  yes;  Elder  Gushing.  He  is  considered  a  good 
preacher,  I  believe;  but  Rachel  doesn't  like  him  very 
well,  and  he  never  seemed  to  help  her  any." 

"Hath  he  helped  others?" 

I  thought  a  moment  and  then  was  obliged  to  answer, 
bluntly  but  frankly,  u  I  never  heard  of  his  converting 
anybody." 

"  Then  am  I  to  understand  that  thee  never  has  any 
revivals  in  thy  midst,  no  seasons  of  refreshing  from  the 
Lord?"  gravely  pursued  my  interlocutor. 

"  A  few  join  sometimes — by  letter  from  other  church- 


•  •   -.  :  . 


HAGAN'S  OPINION  OF  ELDER  GUSHING.      63 

es  mostly.  Now  and  then  somebody  makes  a  pro- 
fession, but  that's  rather  an  uncommon  thing." 

Mrs.  Hagan's  needles  clicked  very  fast  for  a  moment, 
and  I  began  to  hope  she  had  asked  me  all  the  questions 
she  was  going  to, — at  least  on  this  particular  subject; 
for  not  having  thought  much  about  it  before  I  did  not 
feel  qualified  to  give  her  strictly  accurate. information. 

Finally  she  dropped  her  knitting  and  turning  round 
to  me  inquired, — 

"  Is  thy  minister  a  good  man?" 

"  Nay,  friend  Leander,"  she  added,  seeing  that  I  was 
really  too  much  astonished  to  make  an  immediate  reply, 
"  thee  need  not  look  so  surprised  at  my  question,  for  if 
thee  will  turn  to  the  Bible  thee  will  learn  how  the 
priests  under  the  ancient  covenant  sometimes  wrought 
evil  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord.  There  must  always  be 
offences,  but  woe  unto  that  man  by  whom  the  offence 
cometh;  and  a  double  woe  if  he  be  set  for  a  watchman 
of  Zion.  But  I  desire  to  think  no  evil  of  thine  Elder. 
It  may  be  in  the  people.  What  more  can  thee  tell  me 
about  him ?" 

"  He  is  thought* a  good  deal  of  by  other  ministers, 
and  some  of  his  sermons  have  been  printed;  mostly 
Masonic  addresses,  delivered  at  funerals  and  other 
special  occasions.  He  stands  very  high  in  the  order, 
and  has  taken  fifteen  or  more  degrees.  I  really  don't 
know  as  I  can  think  of  much  of  anything  else  to  tell 
you  about  him,"  I  added,  apologetically,  for  I  could 
hardly  suppose  she  would  be  satisfied  with  such  a  brief 
and  bare  description  of  Elder  Cushing's  ministerial 
character  and  qualifications. 

But  she  answered  quietly,  "  Thee  has  no  need  to  say 
more,  for  thee  hath  said  quite  enough  to  show  me  why 


64  HOLDER  WITH   COEDS. 

he  has  no  help  for  thy  friend.  4  Can  the  blind  lead  the 
blind?'  He  hath  need  to  be  taught  himself,  and  how 
should  he  teach  another? — taught  the  same  lesson  that 
my  husband  learned  five  years  ago  this  very  night,  when 
the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  came  upon  him  mightily,  and  so 
convinced  him  of  sin  in  the  matter  of  being  a  Mason 
and  joining  in  their  false  worship,  that  he  came  out 
from  among  them  forever,  and  bore  testimony  to  their 
evil  works." 

She  spoke  with  slow,  solemn,  almost  rhythmic  ca- 
dence, as  she  generally  did  when  under  the  influence  of 
strong  feeling.  And  much  as  I  wondered  at  her  words, 
I  wondered  more  at  the  speaker — this  fair,  spiritual 
woman  with  her  strange  dual  life;  one  part  all  earthly 
and  practical,  filled  with  the  rough,  homely  duties  of  a 
borderer's  wife,  while  the  other  took  such  hold  on  the 
divine  and  the  heavenly  that  she  seemed  almost  like 
one  who  moved  and  had  her  being  among  the  eternal 
realities  of  the  unseen  world. 

During  my  illness  she  had  often  beguiled  me  of 
weariness  and  pain,  by  relating  to  me  some  of  her  "  ex- 
periences," which,  as  I  think  of  them  now  in  the  light 
of  a  maturer  understanding,  appear  to  have  been  the 
result  of  a  mighty  faith  acting  unconsciously  on  one  of 
those  rare  natures  in  which  the  practical  common  sense 
of  the  worker  goes  hand  in  hand  with  the  poetic 
mysticism  of  the  idealist  and  dreamer. 

Once  when  lost  in  the  woods  she  had  prayed  .for 
guidance  and  seemed 'to  hear  angel  voices  directing  her 
steps.  At  another  time  when  her  husband  was  pros- 
trated by  a  slow  wasting  sickness  in  which  neither 
medicine  nor  doctors  proved  of  any  avail,  after  a  season 
of  prayer  by  his  bedside  she  had  seen  in  a  vision  an 


MRS.  HAGAN'S  OPINION  OE  ELDER  GUSHING.       65 

elderly  man  of  grave  appearance,  who,  bidding  her  to 
"  be  of  good  cheer,"  put  into  her  hand  a  certain  root 
with  directions  how  to  make  a  medicine  from  it  for  her 
sick  husband;  which  directions  she  at  once  on  awaken- 
ing from  her  trance  proceeded  to  follow  with  such  good 
results  that  he  soon  began  to  recover. 

Of  course  nothing  could  be  easier  than  for  the 
skeptically  inclined  to  demonstrate  to  a  nicety  that 
Mrs.  Hagan  was  altogether  mistaken  and  deceived; 
that  the  angel  voices  were  mere  figments  of  a  bewildered 
fancy,  and  her  knowledge  of  the  root  which  proved  so 
efficacious  a  remedy,  instead  of  being  supernaturally 
imparted  by  a  divine  messenger,  had  dropped  in  her 
childhood  from  the  lips  of  some  old  Quaker  nurse,  but 
being  too  young  at  the  time  to  give  it  any  heed,  it  had 
lain  dormant  and  forgotten  until  memory,  wrought 
upon  by  a  sudden  crisis,  had  delivered  up  the  secret  in 
this  visionary  guise.  But,  after  granting  the  truth  of 
any  theory  like  the  above,  there  remained  much  the 
same  difficulty  that  thoughtful  minds  experience  after 
hearing  the  Bible  miracles  explained  away  on  the  most 
approved  materialistic  basis;  for  her  whole  life  and 
character,  sublimated  as  they  were  by  a  habit  of  most 
frequent  and  exalted  intercourse  with  the  Eternal,  pre- 
sented in  itself  a  phenomenon  more  wonderful  than 
any  of  her  dreams  and  visions. 

"  My  husband  desires  to  have  a  talk  with  thee  on  this 
subject  before  thee  leaves  us,"  she  said,  rising  to  take 
away  the  empty  bowl.  "  I  fear  thee  will  never  see  thy 
horse  again,  but  thee  must  not  feel  uneasy  about  pur- 
suing thy  journey.  Means  will  be  found  for  so  doing 
when  thou  hRst  gained  sufficient  strength.  The  rob- 
bers have  been  pursued,  fhee  knows,  but  without  sue- 


66  HOLDER   WITH   CORDS. 

cess.  It  was  hoped  the  capture  of  Dick  Stover  and  his 
sons  would  break  up  the  work  of  the  gang  in  these 
parts,  but  they  received  warning  in  time  to  flee  the 
settlement.  But  there  is  Benjamin,  now." 

And  she  hurried  off  to  greet  her  husband,  and  attend 
to  certain  housewifely  duties  incident  on  his  home- 
coming. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

MR.  HAG  AN"  TELLS  WHAT  HE  KNOWS  ABOUT  MASONRY.' 

HOPE  if  the  rogues  ever  are  caught — 
and  there's  small  chance  of  that,  for  they 
are  miles  over  the  border  by  this  time, 
and  safe  in  some  of  their  haunts,  most 
likely — they'll  be  hung  without  benefit 
of  judge  or  jury,"  remarked  Mr.   Hagan, 
whose  soul  chafed  within  him  at  the  easy 
escape  of  the  desperadoes. 

"  Does  thee  know  what  thee  is  saying,  Ben- 
jamin?1' mildly  inquired  his  wife,  this  outburst  rather 
shocking  her  peaceful  non-resistant  principles,  as  savor- 
ing quite  too  much  of  that  spirit  of  vengeance  inherent 
in  "  the  natural  man."  4t  It  is  an  awful  thing  to  send 
any  poor  soul  before  its  Maker  without  giving  it  any 
time  for  preparation.'1 

"  I  know  that,  Mary,  and  I  would  be  the  last  man  to 
counsel  violence  if  the  law  could  be  depended  on.  But 
now  about  Dick  Stover.  Who  gave  him  and  his  sons 
warning?  and  how  did  it  happen  that  the  sheriff  at  the 
time  the  writ  for  their  arrest  ought  to  have  been  served 
was  away  and  couldn't  be  found  till  there  had  been 
plenty  of  time  for  them  to  make  tracks  out  of  the  set- 
tlement? When  sheriffs,  and  juries,  and  the  very 
judges  on  the  bench  are  in  league  with  thieves  and 


&8  HOLDER  WITH  COEDS.   • 

murderers,  honest  men  had  better  take  the  law  into 
their  own  hands.     That's  just 'my  opinion." 

"Thee  thinkest,  Benjamin,  because  one  end  of  the 
skein  is  snarled,  $ie  best  way  to  get  it  smooth  is  to  go 
to  work  and  snarl  up  the  other  end,  does  theenot?" 
asked  his  wife.  At  which  small  piece  of  feminine  satire 
her  husband  laughed  good-naturedly,  and  then  as  a 
sudden  remembrance  seemed  to  strike  his  mind,  he 
turned  to  her  and  said: 

"  Daniel  Stebbins'  child  is  sick  again,  and  they  want 
to  know  if  you  haint  got  some  more  of  that  bark 
that  did  it  so  much  good  last  spring." 

u  A  whole  bottleful.  The  children  are  off  down  to 
the  creek,  but  if  thee'll  see  to  the  baby  while  I  am 
gone  I'll  go  right  over  and  carry  them  some." 

This  was  no  formidable  charge,  as  the  baby,  a  chubby 
ten-month-old,  was  then  placidly  enjoying  its  afternoon 
nap.  There  was  nothing  to  hinder  a  quiet  talk,  and 
Mr.  Hagan  seemed  in  the  mood  for  one.  Tilting  his 
chair  back  at  precisely  the  right  angle  for  comfort,  he 
began, — putting  in  abeyance  for  the  time  a  question  I 
was  about  to  ask,  whether  indeed  the  laws  in  that  par- 
ticular portion  of  the  Quaker  State  were  so  imperfectly, 
administered  as  to  shield  criminals,  a  painful  conviction 
to  that  effect  having  been  forced  upon  my  mind  during 
the  preceding  conversation. 

"  I  suppose  now  you  thought  by  what  I  said  when  you 
asked  me  if  I  was  a  Mason  that  I  wan't  one.  But  I  am 
— or  rather  I  was  one  once.  Now,  if  I  may  inquire, 
what  is  the  highest  degree  you've  taken  in  it,  so  far?" 

"The  Master's,"  I  answered,  not  feeling,  of  course, 
after  what  Mrs.  Hagan  had  divulged,  anys  surprise  at 
the  revelation. 


WHAT   MR.   HAGAST  KNOWS  ABOUT  MASONRY.         69 

"  I  didn't  reckon  you'd  been  much  further,"  coolly 
pursued  Mr.  Hagan.  "  I've  gone  jour  degrees  higher 
than  that — up  to  the  Royal  Arch.  Now,  are  you  satis- 
fied with  it  so  far,  speaking  in  a  general  kind  of  a  way?" 

For  reasons  that  must  be  obvious  to  the  discerning 
reader,  I  found  it  much  easier  to  reply  to  Mr.  Hagan 
than  to  Mark  Stedman,  who,  it  will  be  remembered, 
had  once  put  to  me  a  similar  question.  Here  was  a 
man  who  knew  not  only  all  the  Masonic  secrets  I  knew 
but  presumably  a  good  many  more. 

"It  doesn't  suit  me  in  all  respects,"  I  answered, 
candidly.  "  I  don't  fancy  the  oaths,  nor  many  of  the 
ceremonies  they  have  to  go  through  with.  But  then  I 
shouldn't  think  of  saying  there  was  no  good  in  Mason- 
ry. Its  teachings  are  on  the  side  of  morality  and  re- 
ligion; and  that  is  certainly  a  good  thing  as  far  as  it 
goes.  My  grandfather  belongs  to  it,  and  he  is  one  of 
the  best  men  I  ever  knew." 

"  I  only  put  the  question  that  I  might  see  better  how 
the  ground  lay  between  us,'1  continued  Mr.  Hagan,  with 
a  quiet  ignoring  of  both  these  arguments.  "  Now  I'll 
tell  you  how  I  come  to  give  it  up.  You  know  that 
when  I  married  Mary  I  made  myself  a  poor  man  for 
her  sake.  Not  that  I've  ever  been  sorry  for  that,  mind 
you;  I  never  felt  so  happy  in  my  life  before  as  when  I 
broke  the  first  clod  of  ground  about  here,  and  thought 
of  my  slaves  all  free  and  comfortably  settled  on  farms 
of  their  own.  i  No  broken  hearts,'  thinks  I,  '  to  be 
laid  to  my  account  hereafter;  no  wives  parted  from 
their  husbands;  no  babes  torn  out  of  their  mother's 
arms  and  sold  on  the  auction  block.'  But  that's  neither 
here  nor  there.  It's  Masonry  we  are  talking  about, 
and  that  you  know  is  a  thing  Friends  ain't  over  partial 


TO  BOLDEST   WITH   COEDS. 

to,  no  more  than  they  are  to  slavery.  So  when  I 
married  Mary  I  concluded  not  to  say  anything  to  her 
about  my  being  one.  While  I  see  no  great  evil  in  it, 
I'm  free  to  allow  that  I  was  anything  but  satisfied  in 
my  own  mind.  There  were  things  about  it  I  couldn't 
seem  to  make  hinge  with  Scripture,  no  how;  but  I 
thought  I'd  hang  on  to  it,  saying  to  myself  that  I  was 
a  poor  man  and  might  be  glad  of  their  help  sometime, 
seeing  we  are  all  liable  to  sickness  and  trouble  as  the 
sparks  fly  upward.  And  maybe  I  should  have  gone  on 
deceiving  Mary  to  this  day  if  I  hadn't  fell  under  the 
power  of  the  Spirit.  I  was  at  a  campmeeting  over  to 
Bear  Creek.  We  had  some  powerful  preaching  and  it 
hit  right  and  left.  I  thought  I  had  religion  before;  I 
used  to  pray  and  exhort;  so  I  was  kinder  pitying  the 
poor  sinners,  as  they  fell  to  the  ground  all  around  me 
by  scores,  groaning  and  calling  on  the  Lord  for  mercy, 
when  all  at  once  an  arrow  from  the  Almighty  struck 
me,  right  between  the  joints  of  the  harness,  as  it  were. 
I  began  to  shake  and  tremble,  and  almost  before  I  knew 
it,  I  was  down  as  flat  as  the  most  hardened  reprobate 
there.  1  tell  you  when  the  Spirit  gets  hold  of  a  man 
as  he  did  of  me  then,  and  turns  him  inside  out  and  up- 
side down  he  feels  like  an  empty  vessel,  as  the  Scripture 
says:  there  ain't  much  spiritual  pride  or  anything  else 
left  in  him.  Folks  that  knew  me  and  had  heard  me 
pray  and  exhort  thought  I  was  getting'  some  deeper 
experience,  and  so  they  crowded  round  me,  and  some 
shouted  l  Hallelujah.'  and  some  prayed,  and  some  sung 
1  Glory;'  but  all  the  praying  and  shouting  and  singing 
went  over  my  head  as  idle  and  unmeaning  as  the  rush 
of  the  wind  in  the  treetops,  till  finally  old  Father 
ILoomis  came  along.  He  wan't  the  smartest  preacher 


WHAT  MR.   HAGAN  KNOWS  ABOUT  MASONRY.          71 

on  our  circuit,  folks  said,  but  he  had  a  kind  of  gift  with 
the  anxious  ones,  a  way  of  seeing  through  'em  some- 
how, and  putting  his  finger  right  on  their  trouble. 
And  when  he  came  to  me  all  he  did  was  just  to  kneel 
down  and  pray  like  this:  ;  0  Lord,  show  this  man 
wherefore  thou  contendest  with  him.  Set  his  secret 
sin  in  the  light  of  thy  countenance.'  And  then  he 
went  straight  off  to  somebody  else,  but  that  prayer 
just  flashed  the  truth  right  through  and  through  me. 
I  knew  I'd  got  to  give  up  Masonry.  And  I  was  glad 
to  give  it  up;  I  hated  it.  Why,  if  two  doors  had  opened 
before  me,  and  on  the  signboard  of  one  was  wrote,  k  The 
Lodge,'  and  on  the  other  '  The  Bottomless  Pit,'  I'd  have 
gone  into  one  just  as  quick  as  into  the  other.  The 
Lord  had  set  my  secret  sin  in  the  light  of  his  counte- 
nance. I  got  right  up  on  my  feet,  and  I  made  con- 
fession how  I  had  sinned  by  continuing  a  thing  my 
conscience  disallowed.  And  as  soon  as  I  did  that  the 
Lord  restored  unto  me  the  joy  of  his  free  Spirit,  and 
gave  me  great  liberty  in  laboring  with  sinners;  and 
there  was  a  precious  ingathering  of  souls  at  that  meet- 
ing such  as  was  never  seen  before  or  since  in  these 
parts." 

Mr.  Hagan  paused  an  instant  in  his  rapid  narrative, 
and  then  went  on: 

''But  our  feelings  ain't  the  thing  we  are  to  go  by. 
It's  the  law  and  the  testimony;  and  if  we  had  nothing 
but  just  the  Ten  Commandments  and  the  Sermon  on 
the  Mount,  they'd  be  enough  to  show  whether  Mason- 
ry is  right  or  wrong." 

Astonishment  and  perplexity  had  taken  hold  of  me 
while  I  listened,  nor  was  either  feeling  much  diminished 
when  he  handed  me  his  well-thumbed  pocket  Bible 


72  HOLDER  WITH   CORDS. 

open  at  the  fifth  chapter  of  Matthew,  thirty-fifth  verse. 
"That  says,  lSwear  not  at  all;'  then  are  lodge  oaths 
contrary  to  Scripture  or  not?  And  ain't  there  some 
things  in  'em  at  the  end  that  don't  gibe  very  well  with 
the  Sixth  Commandment?'' 

"You  mean  the  penalties,"16 1  answered,  with  a  vivid 
rememberance  of  my  own  scruples  in  that  regard,  and 
the  soothing  anodyne  administered  by  some  of  the 
lodge  brethren.  "I  have  been  told  that  they  do  not 
really  mean  anything  more  than  merely  to  impress  on 
the  candidate's  mind  a  sense  of  the  guilt  he  would  in- 
cur if  he  violates  his  oath." 

"Ain't  it  breaking  the  Third  Commandment  to  call 
God  to  witness  words  that  don't  mean  anything?  And 
will  the  Lord  hold  him  guiltless  who  takes  his  name  in 
vain,  because  he  does  it  in  a  lodge,  with  ministers  and 
church  members  round  to  keep  him  in  countenance  ?" 

I  was  silent,  while  Mr.  Hagan's  long  fingers  moved 
on  to  another  passage  as  relentless  as  one  of  the  Fates. 

"You  promised  never  to  defraud  a  brother  Mason. 
How  about  cheating  folks  that  ain't  Masons?  The 
Golden  Rule  don't  read  much  like  that,  if  I  remember 
right.  And  you  know  our  Lord  has  given  us  some 
pretty  plain  talk  on  the  Seventh  Commandment.  How 
did  your  lodge  oath  handle  that?  Didn't  it  say,  not  in 
just  these  words,  but  what  come  to  the  same  thing: 
1  Break  it  as  often  as  you're  a  mind  to,  and  we'll  wink 
at  it;  only  because  when  you're  bringing  misery  into 
happy  homes,  and  ruin  and  disgrace  on  the  innocent, 
that  they  ain't  Masons'  homes  nor  Masons'  wives  and 
daughters?'  How  would  you  like  some  time  after  you 
are  married  to  sit  down  and  tell  Rachel  that  part  of 
your  Master  Mason's  oath  ?  What  do  you  think  Christ 

NOTE  16 — "A  most  solemn  ir.ethod  of  confirming  an  path  was  by  plating  a 
drawn  siuord  across  the  throat  of  the  person  to  whom  it  was  administered.' 
Pierson's  Traditions,  page  33. 


WHAT  MR.   HAGAIST   KNOWS  ABOUT  MASOKRY.         73 

would  say  to  it?  I  don't  wonder  his  presence  ain't 
wanted  much  in  the  lodge.  He  was  sharp  enough  on 
the  Pharisees  when  they  tried  to  pare  down  and  clip 
away  from  the  laws  of  God — l  Ye  serpents,  ye  genera- 
tion of  vipers,  how  can  ye  escape  the  damnation  of 
hell?'  Such  a  remark  as  that  now  might  jar  on  the 
proceedings  considerable." 

I  thought  the  same,  but  preserved  a  discreet  silence; 
though  all  the  while  Mr.  Hagan-was  putting  to  me 
these  terrible  questions,  I  watched  with  fascinated  gaze 
that  faithful  hand  move  serenely  on,  marking  Mene< 
Mene,  against  that  u  moral  and  religious"  system  so 
dear  to  the  hearts  of  my  grandfather,  and  Deacon 
Brown  and  Elder  Gushing,  to  say  nothing  of  a  host  of 
other  worthies  more  or  less  eminent  in  their  day  and 
generation. 

"  What  do  you  think  Christ  meant  when  he  said, 
'  Render  unto  Caesar  the  things  that  be  Caesars'?" 

I  did  not  see  very  clearly  the  -drift  of  this  inquiry, 
but  feeling  it  as  a  temporary  truce  in  this  severe  cross- 
examination,  I  answered  promptly  enough,  "  That  we 
ought  to  obey  the  laws  of  the  land  and  be  good  citizens, 
I  suppose." 

"  Did  you  think  of  that  when  you  promised  to  warn 
a  brother  Mason  of  any  approaching  danger,  and  keep 
all  his  secrets,  murder  and  treason"  excepted?" 

kt  I  thought  a  good  Mason  was  not  supposed  to  com- 
mit criminal  acts,"  I  said,  this  being  the  best  answer  I 
..could  think  of  under  the  circumstances. 

"Then  it  seems  to  me  that  when  they  put  in  them 
words  they  took  a  mighty  deal  of  trouble  for  nothing, 
especially  as,  they  ain't  very  pleasant  sounding  ones," 
remarked  Mr.  Hagan.  dryly. 


NOTE  17.  —  ''Treason  and  rebellion  al?o,  because  they  are  altogether  political 
offences,  cannot  bt:  inquired  into  by  the  lodge,  and  although  a  Mason  may  be 
convicted  of  cither  of  those  acts  in  the  courts  of  his  country,  he  cannot  be  Ma- 
sonically  punished*,  and  notwithstanding  his  treason  or  rebellion,  hia  relation  to 
the  lodge,  to  use  the  language  of  the  old  charges,  remains  indefeasible." — Mack- 
ey's  Masonic  Jurisprudence,  p.  510. 


74  HOLDER   WITH   COEDS. 

Again  a  discreet  silence,  in  which  I  began  to  dimly 
perceive  the  beauty  of  at  least  one  of  my  Masonic 
jewels.  For  in  the  lack  of  any  answering  argument, 
what  refuge  like  a  "  silent  tongue?" 

"And  how  are  you  going  to  tell  a  good  Mason  from 
a  bad  one?"  pursued  Mr.  Hagan,  thus  calling  to  memo- 
ry the  unpleasant  fact  that  even  though  the  lodge  ex- 
pelled an  unworthy* member,  there  was  no  Lethe  process 
which  could  pour  oblivion  over  the  knowledge  of  its 
secret  signs  and  grips  and  passwords,  for  when  once 
imparted  he  would  be  just  as  free  to  use  them  as  a 
shield  from  the  consequences  of  his  own  criminal  acts, 
as  any  member  in  'good  and  regular  standing'  for 
legitimate  purposes.  But  I  won't  be  hard  on  you,  see- 
ing I've  done  a  trifle  worse  than  that  myself.  When  I 
took  the  Royal  Arch  degree  I  promised  to  help  a  com- 
panion in  any  difficulty,  right  or  wrong,  and  keep  all  of 
his  secrets,  without  any  exception.  And  besides,  I — 

"  Mr.  Hagan,"  I  exclaimed,  starting  up,  tc  I  really 
can't — I  mean  I  wish  you  wouldn't  tell  me  anything 
that  you  have  no  right  to  tell.  1  think  with  your  views 
about  the  order  you  did  entirely  right  to  leave  them, 
but  to  reveal  secrets  that  you  have  taken  a  solemn  oath 
to  keep  seems  to  me  quite  a  different  matter." 

My  host  answered  with  the  same  peculiar  look  he 
had  worn  on  our  first  encounter,  when  I  put  to  him 
that  unlucky  question  regarding  his  Masonic  con- 
nections. 

"  I  argered  that  out  long  before  you  ever  thought  of 
being  a  Freemason,  and  I've  seen  no  ground  for  chang- 
ing my  mind  since.  If  a  man  takes  a  wicked  oath, 
where's  the  Bible  authority  for  keeping  it  ?  Is  it  to 
the  glory  of  God  that  he  should  keep  it,  or  break  it? 


WHAT  MR.    HAGAST  KNOWS   ABOUT   MASONRY.         75 

But  then,"  added  Mr.  Hagan,  with  a  slight  change  in 
his  voice,  "  a  man  hain't  no  right  nuther  to  throw  away 
his  life.  I  argered  that  out  too,  and  I'm  mighty  care- 
ful what  I  say  before  them  that'll  turn  it  to  my  hurt." 

"  Mr.  Hagan,"  said  I,  startled  but  incredulous,  "  do 
you  actually  mean  that  if  any  Mason  should  betray  the 
secrets  of  the  order  he  would  have  to  suffer  the  penal- 
ty of  his  oath?" 

Mr.  Hagan  looked  keenly  at  me  from  beneath  his 
shaggy  eyebrows. 

"That  ain't  the  question,  whether  such  a  thing  would 
be.  It  has  been  done;  and  Tm  knowing  to  it.r 


CHAPTER  X. 

A  MASONIC    MURDER— SUCCESS    AND  RETURN    HOME. 

HORROR  fell  upon  me.     The  soft  south 
wind  came  sighing  through   the  cabin, 
the  sunshine  lay  in  great  golden  patches 
on  the  floor,  but  I. felt  like  one  on  whose 
shuddering  gaze  the  door  of  some  mould- 
ering charnel  house  had  suddenly  opened  as 
1  listened  to  Mr.  Hagan's  story,  which  ran 
as  follows: 

"  I  joined  the  lodge  when  I  lived  in  Virginia. 
Now  there's  a  difference  in  human  nater,  we  all  allow 
that;  and  there's  a  difference  in  lodges.  Some  are  de- 
tent and  respectable,  as  far  as  the  outside  of  things  go, 
and  others  again  aro  as  full  of  rowdyism  and  all  man- 
ner of  goings  on  that  shouldn't  be,  as  an  egg  is  of 
meat.  And  this  was  the  way  with  the  one  I  joined. 
I  got  so  disgusted  after  a  while  that  I  stopped  going  to 
their  meetings.  I  hadn't  much  taste  for  profanity  nor 
hard  drinking,  you  see,  but  I  kept  on  paying  my  dues, 
and  so  was  considered  a  regular  Mason  in  good  stand- 
ing. It  was  afterwards  that  this  affair  happened  which 
I'm  going  to  tell  you  about. 

"  The  chaplain  was  Gus  Peters,  and  though  he  could 
not  read  a  word  of  two  syllables  without  spelling  it,  - 
they  chose  him  to  the  office  for  a  joke.     He  was  a  sim- 
ple kind  of  a  fellow,  that  got  hold  accidentally  of  some 
of  the  secrets,  I  never  rightly  knew  how,  so  they  made 


A  MASONIC  MURDER.  7? 

him  take  the  oath  and  become  a  regular  member  as  the 
best  way  to  shut  his  mouth.  He  got  into  drinking 
ways  after- he'd  been  in  the  lodge  a  while — he'd  been 
tolerably  steady  before — and  that  was  how  the  trouble 
come.  When  the  liquor  was  in  him  he  was  apt  to  let 
out  the  secrets,  and  it  got  to  be  a  serious  question  what 
to  do  about  it.  Things  went  on  so  for  a  time,  then  all 
at  once  the  man  was  missing,  and  he  never  turned  up 
again,  dead  or  alive.  Folks  settled  it  that  he'd  stepped 
into  the  water  some  night  when  he  was  too  tipsy  to  go 
straight,  and  there  the  matter  ended.  As  I  said  before, 
I'd  pretty  much  stopped  going  to  the  lodge  then,  and 
I  married  soon  afterwards  and  came  up  here  to  live,  and 
what  with  the  trouble  we  had,  for  I  was  sick  all  one 
summer,  and  the  crops,  fell  short  for  two  seasons 
running,  enough  happened  to  drive  the  whole  thing 
out  of  my  head. 

"Three  years  ago  last  winter,  while  I  was  on  a  preach- 
ing circuit,  1  come  across  an  old  acquaintance  that  was 
a  member  with  me  of  that  same  lodge  in  Virginia.  The 
man  stuck  to  me  like  a  burr,  and  when  I  found  he  was 
really  sick  and  had  no  money  to  carry  him  further,  I 
told  him  I'd  settle  the  bill  for  a  night's  lodging  at  the 
tavern. 

u  Well,  he  set  and  shivered  over  the  fire  and  talked 
in  a  queer  random  way  for  a  while.  Then  all  at  once 
he  started  up  and  stared  at  me  kinder  wild  and  anxious. 

"  '  You  remember  Gus  Peters?'  says  he. 

"  I  told  him,  '  Yes:'  and  then  he  said  in  a  whisper,  as 
though  he  was  afraid  somebody  was  listening  at  the 
keyhole — 

"  l  I'll  tell  you,  for  we  are  both  Masons  and  bound  to 
keep  each  other's  secrets.  I  'know  what  became  of  him  /' 


78  HOLDEK  WITH  CORDS. 

"An  awful  suspicion  shot  through  my  mind  when 
he  said  that,  but  I  kept  quiet  and  let  him  talk  on. 

"  k  You  see  we  were  chosen  by  lot,  I  and  another  man, 
to  put  him  out  of  the  way.  We  couldn't  help  it.  We 
had  to  do  it.  Ain't  we  sworn  to  obey  every  summons18 
of  the  lodge  to  the  length  of  our  cable-tow?  And  the 
drunken  fool  was  babbling  out  our  secrets.  But  it 
wan't  me  that  drawed  the  knife  across  his  throat;  I 
want  you  to  know  that.  I  helped  fasten  the  weights 
to  him  and  throw  him  into  the  creek.  He'd  taken  the 
oath  and  knew  what  the  penalty  was,  and  it  ain't  mur- 
der I  say  to  hold  a  man  to  his  oath.  Leastways  its 
Jack  Benedick,  not  me,  that's  got  to  answer  for  it. 
You  remember  Benedick,  one  of  the  dare-devil  sort. 
He's  a  gentleman  of  the  road  now,  and  I  reckon  has 
forgot  all  about  that  little  affair.' 

"  I  let  him  ramble  on,  for  I  felt  as  though  I  was  under 
a  spell.  I  couldn't  move  hand  nor  foot.  I  ain't  giving 
you  all  the  little  details  of  his  story,  but  every  circum- 
stance about  it  fitted  together  like  a  piece  of  joiner's 
woik,  and  I  hadn't  a  doubt  in  my  mind  but  what  it 
was  true. 

u  In  two  dajrs  he  died  of  delirium  tremens,  and  I  see 
that  he  was  decently  buried." 

I  sat  for  a  moment  after  Mr.  Hagan  had  finished  this 
awful  recital,  literally  dumb  with  horror.  Was  the 
spirit  of  Cain  at  the  heart  of  this  "  benevolent  insti- 
tution, and  its  terrible  penalties  not  the  mere  lifeless 
formulas  I  had  been  taught  to  believe,  but  instinct  with 
awful  meaning  for  the  betrayer  of  Masonic  secrets  ? 

u  Benedick?"  I  said,  questioningly,  as  a  new  idea- 
struck  me.  "  Isn't  that  the  name  of  the  head  one  in 
the  gang  that  took  my  horse  and  nearly  murdered  me  ?" 

NOTE  18.  — "The  Mason  who  disobeys  a  due,  summons  subjects  himself  to  se- 
vere penalties."— Morris's  Dictionary,  Art.  Disobedience. 


A  MASONIC  MURDER.  79 

u  He's  the  very  same  man;  a  Royal  Arch  Mason/' 
answered  Mr.  Hagan  coolly.  u  He's  learned  his  trade 
thoroughly  since  he  cut  poor  Gus's  throat.  The  Stovers 
are  all  Masons,  and  if  you  don't  understand  how  they 
cleared  out  of  the  settlement  so  easy  without  any 
hindrance  from  the  sheriff,  you've  forgot  the  most  im- 
portant part  of  your  lodge  oaths,  I  reckon." 

Over  this  information  I  pondered  silently,  for  it  cer- 
tainly verified  the  truth  of  Deacon  Brown's  statements 
in  a  manner  more  convincing  than,  agreeable.  What 
a  fine  chance  of  u  consorting  on  brotherly  terms  with 
rohbers  and  marauders"  I  lost  through  undue  modesty 
when  I  stopped  at  the  Stovers'  cabin ! 

The  sudden  awakening  of  the  baby,  who  began  to 
cry  most  vehemently,  and  refused  to  be  comforted  by 
any  process  with  which  masculine  minds  were  con- 
versant, stopped  further  revelations  until  Mrs.  Hagan's 
return  allowed  us  to  continue  our  talk. 

"Mary  knows  as  much  about  Freemasonry  as  J  do," 
resumed  Mr.  Hagan.  kt  You  may  think  some  of  the 
things  ain't  fit  for  a  woman's  ears,  and  I  don't  say  they 
are;  but  to  my  mind  no  lodge  oath  has  a  right  to  sun- 
der them  God  has  joined  together.  And  somehow  you 
can  tell  things  to  an  angel  that  you  can't  to  a  common 
woman." 

Mr.  Hagan  uttered  this  profound  philosophical  truth 
with  a  simplicity  refreshing  to  hear;  and  silence  fell 
between  us  for  several  moments,  which  1  spent  in  men- 
tally considering  how  the  test  would  apply  to  Rachel. 
Under  no  imaginable  circumstances  could  I  ever  find  it 
easy  to  tell  her  the  secrets  of  the  lodge,  from  which  I 
concluded  that  there  was  considerably  more  woman  and 
less  saint  about  Rachel  Stedman  than  Mary  Hagan. ' 


80  HOLDER   WITH   CORDS. 

''  Did  you  ever  hear  of  a  Captain  William  Morgan?1' 
asked  Mr.  Hagan,  finally  breaking  the  silence.  "  I 
heard  he  had  moved  to  New  York  State.  We  were 
boys  together  in  Culpepper  County.'1 

"  My  grandfather  is  very  well  acquainted  with  him,1' 
I  answered  eagerly,  little  thinking  how  soon  that  name 
would  stir  the  land  to  its  very  center  with  the  greatest 
horror  and  pity  and  indignation.  "At  least  I  think 
it  must  be  the  same  man  you  are  speaking  of,  for  I 
know  he  came  from  Virginia." 

"  I  used  to  think  he  was  uncommon  smart,"  pursued 
Mr.  Hagan;  "  a  man  the  world  might  hear  from  some 
day.  He  was  one  that  always  had  his  thoughts,  and 
was  free- to  speak  'em  whether  other  folks  agreed  with 
him  or  not.  A  frank,  generous,  open  kind  of  a  nature 
he  had.  Nothing  underhand  about  William  Morgan; 


never." 


"My  grandfather  thinks  very  highly  of  him,"  I  re- 
turned. "He  is  a  very  fine  appearing  man,  I  have 
heard  him  say,  and  one  that  can  talk  well  on  almost 
any  subject.  He  first  went  to  Canada,  and  engaged  in 
business,  but  a  fire  reduced  him  to  poverty,  so  that  he 
has  gone  back  to  his  old  trade  of  bricklaying.  He  and 
his  young  wife  are  now  livin'g  in  Batavia,  Genesee 
County." 

Mr.  Hagan,  with  his  hands  clasped  over  his  knees, 
sat  silent,  his  eyes  fixed  on  one  of  the  golden  checkered 
patches  of  sunlight  that  wavered  and  danced  over  the 
cabin  floor. 

"Captain  Morgan  is  a  Freemason,"  I  continued, 
"  and  unusually  well  posted  in  the  secrets  of  the  order, 
I  have  heard  my  grandfather  say.  Now,  if  Masonry  is 
really  contrary  to  the  Bible,  and  I  must  admit  that  it 


CAPTAIN   WILLIAM   MORGAN  81 

seems  so  from  your  showing,  how  is  it  that  two  such 
men  as  they  don't  or  can't  see  it  in  its  true  light? 
How  can  it  be  supposed  that  they  or  the  members  of 
the  Masonic  fraternity  generally  could  look  with  any- 
thing but  execration  and  horror  on  such  a  cold-blooded 
murder  as  you  have  been  telling  me  about,  planned  and 
carried  on  by  a  few  desperate  villains,  Masons  only  in 
name,  and  vile  enough  to  use  their  connection  with  the 
order  as  a  cloak  for  every  crime?" 

"  I  ain't  a  man  to  see  visions  or  dream  dreams/'  slowly 
answered  Mr.  flagan,  "  but  speaking  from  what  I  know 
of  the  spirit  of  the  order,  something  as  bad  as  that,  or 
worse,  will  happen  yet,  arid  not  done  in  a  corner  as  that 
deed  was.  Then,  and  not  till  then,  the  scales  will  fall 
from  their  eyes.  I  know  what  I'm  saying,  and  you 
mark  my  words." 

My  host  did  not  give  me  much  time  to  ponder  over 
this  startling  prophecy,  but  after  a  moment  of  silence 
began  on  another  subject  by  making  an  inquiry  about 
the  locality  of  my  grandfather's  claim.  The  rest  of 
our  conversation  I  shall  not  transcribe,  it  being  decided- 
ly too  geographical  in  its  general  details  to  interest  the 
average  reader. 

The  " claim"  lay  about  forty  miles  distant,  and  like 
the  Good  Samaritan  he  had  already  proved  himself,  as 
soon  as  I  was  able  to  resume  my  journey,  Mr.  Hagan 
lent  me  a  horse  and  funds  sufficient  for  my  needs. 
Fortune,  though  she  had  showed  an  adverse  face  hith- 
erto, now  suddenly  changed  her  frowns  to  smiles,  and 
when  I  reached  my  destination — a  tract  of  wilderness 
land  near  the  Virginia  line,  where  some  enterprising 
capitalists  had  taken  it  into  their  heads  to  lay  out  a 
city  whose  name  and  precise  location  on  the  map  need 


82  HOLDER   WITH   CORDS. 

not  be  given  here,  being  a  matter  of  no  special  moment 
to  the  reader — I  succeeded  in  negotiating  such  favora- 
able  terms  of  sale  as  more  than  realized  my  grand- 
father's most  sanguine  expectations;  and  I  begun  the 
return  journey,  which  being  perfectly  free  from  adven- 
ture gave  me  time  to  do  considerable  thinking,  with  a 
light  heart. 

On  my  homeward  way  I  stopped  for  a  night  at  the 
Hagans'.  The  gentle  Quakeress,  whose  womanly  in- 
terest in  my  betrothed  had  not  at  all  abated,  gave  me 
a  couple  of  fine  hem-stitched  handkerchiefs  to  take  to 
Rachel  as  a  wedding  gift,  remarking  in  the  quaint  man- 
ner peculiar  to  her  sect, — 

"  I  have  a  concern  on  my  mind  for  thy  friend,  but  I  do 
not  doubt  she  is  one  of  the  Lord's  elect,  and  will  some 
day  be  brought  into  the  light.  But  have  a  care  that 
thee  does  not  put  a  stumbling  block  in  her  way." 

"  Mrs.  Hagan!"  I  exclaimed,  feeling  really  hurt  at 
the  insinuation. 

"  Thee  would  never  do  it  purposely,  friend  Leander,' 
but  thee  might  do  it  unthinkingly.  Did  Rachel  wish 
thee  to  join  the  lodge?" 

"  No;  she  was  very  much  opposed  to  it." 

"  Does  thee  imagine  her  opposition  will  grow  less 
when  thee  and  she  are  wedded?"  was  Mrs.  Hagan's 
next  searching  inquiry. 

Before  this  pure-souled  woman,  knowing  that  she 
was  talking  with  full  knowledge  of  all  the  ridiculous 
ceremonials  of  the  lodge,  its  awful  oaths  and  hideous 
penalties,  i  felt  my  cheeks  glowing  hot  with  the  blush 
of  honest  shame. 

;'No;"  I  answered,  after  a  moment's  hesitation, 
"  Rachel  is  not  apt  to  change  her  mind  when  it  is  once 


SUCCESS   AND   BETUKN   HOME.  83 

made  up.  But  I  sincerely  mean,  after  we  are  married, 
to  stop  attending  the  lodge  altogether.  It  will  be  ex- 
cuse enough  that  I  don't  want  to  leave  Rachel  alone 
evenings." 

'"Take  heed,  friend  Leander,  lest  thy  fear  of  man 
bring  thee  into  a  snare,  and  with  thee  this  dear  soul 
whose  welfare  should  be  precious  to  thee  as  thine  own 
life,  t  am  a  woman  and  I  have  the  heart  of  a  woman. 
My  husband  never  guessed  it,  and  I  have  never  told 
him,  but  long  before  he  confessed  to  me  that  he  had 
been  a  Mason  I  knew  the  whole  truth.  Does  thee 
think  I  passed  no  miserable  hours  with  the  thought 
like  an  arrow  in  my  heart  that  the  one  I  loved  and 
honored  before  all  other  men  was  deceiving  me?  And 
1  would  warn  thee  beforehand  of  the  danger  to  thy 
mutual  happiness.  Thee  and  Rachel  will  make  a  sad 
mistake  to  begin  married  life  at  variance  with  each 
other.  'Can  two  walk  together  unless  they  be  agreed  ?'" 

"  0,  we  agree  to  disagree,  Mrs.  Hagan,"  I  answered, 
with  an  assumed  lightness,  "  at  least  so  far  as  Masonry 
is  concerned.  Rachel  never  really  opposed  my  joining 
the  lodge  in  so  many  words;  but  she  has  a  tremendous 
power  of  letting  me  know  what  she  thinks  without 
saying  much." 

"  I  have  warned  thee,"  she  answered,  her  deep,  spirit- 
ual eyes  not  looking  at  me  as  she  spoke,  but  with  a 
curious  far  away  gaze  in  them  that  awed  me  though  I 
did  not  understand  it.  "I  have  warned  thee,"  she  re- 
peated, in  the  same  strangely  solemn  way,  and  said  no 
more. 

The  beautiful  lives  of  Benjamin  and  Mary  Hagan 
were  never  wrought  into  a  biography,  but  long  after- 
wards I  accidentally  heard  of  them  as  keepers  of  a 


84  HOLDEN    WITH   COEDS. 

famous  station  on  the  underground  railroad,  minister- 
ing to  the  Lord  they  loved  in  the  person  of  many  a 
poor  footsore  fugitive  to  whom  such  a  halting  place  on 
their  weary  road  must  have  seemed  like  the  chamber 
called  Peace,  with  its  windows  opened  toward  the  rising 
sun  of  liberty. 

I  paid  for  the  horse  and  returned  the  money  Mr. 
Hagau.  had  lent  me — to  offer  anything  more  I  felt  would 
be  an  insult  to  their  simple-hearted  kindness — and  rode 
away  the  next  morning,  the  hot  tears  blinding  my  eyes 
as  I  left  them  standing  in  their  cabin  door  with  words 
of  farewell  upon  their  lips. 

The  sun  was  setting  when  I  entered  Brownsville, 
and  the  first  person  to  meet  me  with  recognizing  glance 
happened  to  be  Sam  Toller. 

u  If  I  ain't  glad  to  see  ye  back  again,  Leander  Sev- 
erns,"  he  said,  after  his  first  doubtful  stare,  for  the  sun 
was  in  his  face,  and  it  was  not  till  I  came  directly 
alongside  that  he  fully  comprehended  who  I  was. 

"But  they'll  be  a  sight  gladder  to  see  ye  up  to  the 
house.  Been  swapping  horses?"  he  asked  abruptly,  as 
his  eye  fell  on  my  raw-boned  steed,  which  was  certainly 
in  decided  contrast  to  the  sleek  and  beautiful  Major. 
"  Yer  gran'ther  won't  like  that." 

I  had  not  thought  it  best  to  rouse  useless  anxiety  by 
writing  home  any  account  of  the  adventures  which  had 
befallen  me,  and  Sam  was  therefore  the  first  person  to 
receive  the  news.  Certainly  if  its  speedy  publication 
had  been  an  important  object  with  me,  nobody  any 
better  qualified  for  that  purpose  could  have  been  se- 
lected. 

"Wall,  things  did  fall  out  with  ye  kinder  providen- 
tial, after  all,"  grunted  Sam,  who  was  by  no  means  of 


SUCCESS   AND   RETURN   HOME.  85 

an  irreligious  turn  of  mind,  and  could,  when  he  chose, 
make  the  most  edifying  moral  reflections.  It  was  a 
remarkable  deliverance,  and  I  hope  ye  thanKed  the  Lord 
for  it.  Now  I  lay  anything  that  the  man  that  did  so 
well  by  ye  was  a  Mason,  and  I  have  been  thinking  that 
it  might  be  a  good  thing  for  me  to  join  the  lodge. 

"  Mr.  Hagan  had  been  a  Mason,  it  is  true,"  1  an- 
swered, cautiously,  concealing  with  some  difficulty  a 
smile  at  the  very  idea  of  poor,  shiftless  Sam  Toller, 
who  never  had  money  enough  in  his  pocket  to  pay  his 
entrance  fee,  ever  being  admitted.  "He  told  me  so 
himself;  but  it  was  because  he  was  a  Christian  that  he 
was  so  good  to  me,  and  not  in  the  least  because  he  was 
a  Mason." 

u  All  the  same,1'  replied  Sam  cheerfully,  "  I've  kinder 
gathered  from  Elder  Cushing's  talk  that  there  ain't 
much  difference;  a  good  Mason  and  a  good  Christian 
are  abo'.it  alike.  Now  what  would  you  say  if  I  should 
tell  you  I  had  jined  'em  while  you've  been  gone/' 

And  to  my  unspeakable  amazement  Sam  leaned  over 
and  gave  me,  in  the  most  approved  Masonic  style,  the 
Master  Mason's  grip. 

"  Is  it  possible,  Sam?"  I  asked,  as  soon  as  I  could  get 
breath  from  my  first  bewilderment,  which  state  of  mind 
was  nowise  abated  by  Sam's  answer, 

"  Hain't  I  got  just  as  good  a  right  to  be  a  Mason  as 
any  man?  If  I  hain't  I.  like  to  know  why." 

And  Sam,  ordinarily  the  best-tempered  fellow  in  the 
world,  waxed  surprisingly  irate. 

"  I  am  sure  I  meant  no  offence,  Sam,"  I  answered, 
humbly.  u  It  was  quite  natural  I  should  be  a  little 
surprised.  But  now  I  want  to  know  all  about  the 


86  HOLDER  WITH  CORDS. 

folks,  and  how  things  have  gone  on  at  home  while  iVe 
been  away." 

"Middling  well,"  was  Sam's  succinct  reply.  "There's 
the  Captain  now,  a  standing  at  the  gate  as  though  he 
was  looking  for  ye." 


CHAPTER  XL 

MORE   TALK   WITH   MY   GRANDFATHER. — A   MODERN  PAN. 

N  a  moment  my  grandfather  had  caught 
sight  of  me  and  hobbled  out,  his  white 
locks  waving  in  the  wind.  0  the  joy  of 
that  home  coming!  The  quiet,  blissful 
content  when  my  mother's  tears  of  hap- 
piness were  all  shed,  and  my  story  of  dis- 
aster and  success  recounted  in  its  every  de- 
tail for  the  twentieth  time!  For,  as  Rachel 
prophesied,  I  had  come  home  "  quite  a  hero," 
even  in  Joe's  eyes,  who  was  decidedly  more  respectful 
to  me  that  evening  than  he  had  ever  been  in  his  life 
before. 

Rachel  and  I  had  our  own  little  private  cup  of  joy 
with  which  no  stranger  intermeddled.  She  listened 
with  paling  cheek,  but  not  saying  a  word,  when  I  related 
how  the  robbers  struck  me  down  and  left  me  for  dead 
in  those  dark  unknown  woods;  but  when  I  told  the 
experience  which  followed,  the  strange  sense  of  com- 
fort and  peace  that  stole  into  my  heart  when  lying 
there,  bruised  and  bleeding,  I  saw  thes  constellation  of 
the  Dipper,  and  remembered  her  parting  promise,  she 
looked  up  with  great  wide  eyes,  in  which  the  surprise 
of  some  wonderful,  unlooked-for  joy  seemed  suddenly 
kindling. 

"0,  I  remember  that  night,"  she  exclaimed.     "I 


88  HOLDER  WITH   CORDS. 

was  restless  and  couldn't  sleep.  A  fear  of  something 
dreadful  seemed  to  oppress  me.  I  couldn't  shake  it  off, 
but  1  thought  a  breath  of  fresh  air  might  make  me 
feel  better  and  I  got  up  and  raised  the  window.  As  I 
leaned  out  I  could  see  the  Dipper,  and  I  began  to  won- 
der if  you  were  in  trouble  or  danger  that  I  had  such  a 
feeling.  So  J  just  put  my  head  down  on  the  window- 
sill  and  prayed;  and  then  all  the  strange  oppression 
seemed  to  slide  right  off  of  me  like  some  heavy  weight. 
0,  Leander,  do  you  think  God  really  did  hear  my  poor 
little  foolish  prayer  and  answer  it?" 

u  I  know  he  did,  Rachel,"  I  answered,  solemnly  and 
earnestly. 

Two  great  tears  rolled  down  Rachel's  cheeks.  Reach- 
ing out  dumb  hands  of  longing,  her  soul  had  at  last 
touched  the  Invisible  Father,  and  for  one  transcendent 
moment  her  whole  being  dissolved  in  awe-stricken  bliss 
at  the  thought. 

The  next  day,  in  a  private  aside,  I  asked  my  grand- 
father if  he  knew  Sam  Toller  was  a  Mason. 

"  No;1'  he  replied,  nearly  dropping  his  pipe  in  aston- 
ishment. u  I  don't  believe  it.  There's  no  more  harm 
in  Sam  than  there  is  in  a  chip  squirrel,  but  he's  such  an 
idle,  shiftless  fellow  that  there  isn't  a  lodge  in  the  State 
would  take  him  in." 

"  He  gave  the  Master  Mason's  grip  last  night,  and 
gave  it  to  me  correctly  too." 

My  grandfather  looked  nonplussed. 

"  Then  of  course  he  must  at  some  time  or  other  have 
joined  the  order.  Worse  fellows  than  Sam  Toller  have 
been  Masons  before  now,  but  I  must  say  I  am  surprised." 

And  my  grandfather,  whose  good,  easy,  placid  soul 
was  seldom  long  astonished  at  anything,  after  a  mo- 


MORE   TALK  -WITH  MY  GRAKDFATHER.  89 

ment's  reflection  took  up  the  Canandaigua  paper  which 
had  just  arrived,  and  would  have  dismissed  the  subject 
if  I  had  been  willing  to  let  him. 

"  I  haven't  told  you  yet  that  this  Methodist  preacher, 
who,  together  with  his  wife,  showed  me  such  kindness, 
was  a  Mason,"  I  remarked,  feeling  my  way  by  slow  de- 
grees to  the  point  T  wished  to  reach. 

"Ah !"  and  my  grandfather  looked  interested.  "  Now, 
Leander,  after  such  practical  proof  of  its  benefits,  I 
hope  you  see  that  I  was  right  in  urging  you  to  join  the 
order.11 

u  But  Mr.  Hagan  had  renounced  all  connection  with 
Masonry  years  before.  He  thinks  it  a  bad  thing,  con- 
trary to  the  Bible.  We  had  a  long  talk  about  it,  and 
he  made  it  very  clear  to  my  mind  that  the  oaths  and 
penalties  at  least,  if  nothing  else  about  it,  are  entirely 
wrong." 

I  spoke  with  a  little  concealed  trepidation  which  I 
found  was  wholly  unnecessary.  My  grandfather's  faith 
in  his  favorite  institution  was  much  too  strong  to  be 
thus  easily  disturbed. 

<k  Good  men  don't  always  feel  nor  think  alike,  Le- 
ander," was  his  answer,  as  placid  as  a  summer  breeze. 
u  We  read  somewhere  in  the  Epistles  that  what  a  man 
thinks  to  be  sin,  to  him  it  is  sin.  1  never  blame  any 
one  for  acting  up  to  his  conscience,  even  when  I  know 
he  is  mistaken.  I've  always  said  myself  that  there 
were  things  in  Masonry  that  1  couldn't  understand,  nor 
bring  myself  to  think  are  really  right;  but  my  idea 
about  them  is  that  they  are  relics  of  a  barbarous  age 
that  will  fall  away  in  time.  And  besides  I  have  known 
a  great  many  honest,  good  men  to  become  prejudiced 
against  Masonry  by  joining  a  lodge  where  there  was  a 


90  HOLDER  WITH  CORDS. 

great  deal  of  profanity  and  hard  drinking  going  on. 
Why,  I've  known  lodges  myself  that  any  decent  man, 
if  he  once  got  into,  would  want  to  clear  out  of  as  quick 
as  he  could.  By  a  very  natural  mistake  they  blame 
Masonry  for  the  sins  of  its  individual  members,  for- 
getting that  they  might  just  as  easily  condemn  Chris- 
tianity on  the  same  grounds." 

It  dimly  occurred  to  me  that  a  church  composed 
mainly  of  drunkards  and  swearers  was  a  strange  anom- 
a\y  I  had  not  yet  met  with;  but  I  was  anxious  to  know 
my  grandfather's  opinion  on  another  point. 

"  If  a  member  should  divulge  the  secrets  of  the  order, 
would  he  be  punishable  with  death,  according  to  the 
terms  of  his  oath?"  I  asked. 

My  grandfather,  for  the  first  time  in  all  our  discus- 
sions of  the  subject,  had  no  answer  ready. 

44  Why,  Leander,"  he  answered  at  last,  "  in  the  first 
place  there  is  no  officer  in  the  lodge  empowered  to  act 
as  executioner,  and  in  the  second  place  it  is  not  sup- 
posable  that  any  member  would  so  perjure  himself  as 
to  disclose  the  secrets.  In  my  understanding  of  things 
this  is  one  great  reason  why  these  ancient  penalties, 
that  seem  so  unsuited  to  the  spirit  of  the  age,  are  still 
kept  up,  for  human  nature  is  so  depraved  that  the  oath, 
divested  of  these  forms,  might  not  have  sufficient  re- 
straining power  over  some.  But  why  do  you  ask  such 
a  question?" 

I  concluded,  as  the  best  answer  I  could  give,  to  relate 
Mr.  Hagan's  story,  to  which  my  grandfather  listened, 
his  ruddy  face  fairly  white  with  horror. 

"That  was  a  fearful  murder;  perfectly  awful.  It 
makes  my  blood  run  cold  to  think  of  it,"  he  said  at 
last,  after  sitting  for  a  moment  in  shocked  silence. 


MORE  TALK:  WITH  MY  GRANDFATHER.  iJl 

uBut  now  that  story,  Leander,  just  proves  what  I  have 
been  saying.  In  a  lodge  where  they  are  half  heathen 
it  stands  to  reason  that  their  acts  will  be  heathenish. 
If  there  are  men  among  them  that  care  no  more  for 
murdering  a  man  than  they  do  for  felling  an  ox,  they'll 
be  likely  enough  to  do  it;  only  such  a  lodge  doesn't 
represent  Masonry  any  more  than  the  men  who  stabbed 
infants  in  their  mother's  arms  on  St.  Bartholomew's 
day  represents  Christianity." 

A  reasoning  so  entirety  satisfactory  to  my  grand- 
father that,  with  a  deep-drawn  sigh  for  the  depravity 
that  made  such  deeds  possible,  he  again  took  up  his 
paper. 

I  was  by  no  means  entirely  convinced,  but  added  to 
the  seeming  reason  and  fairness  of  what  he  had  said  was 
my  reverent  affection,  almost  more  than  filial,  for  the 
guardian  of  my  fatherless  boyhood,  the  patient,  loving- 
counsellor  of  my  maturer  years.  To  suppose  for  a 
moment  that  he  would  advance,  for  mere  persuasion's 
sake,  arguments  in  which  he  did  not  himself  thoroughly 
believe  was  to  suppose  an  impossibility.  Day  and 
night  would  as  soon  change  places  as  my  grandfather 
in  his  stern  honesty — which  by  the  way  was  the  only 
thing  stern  about  him — seek  to  impose  on  even  the 
credulity  of  a  child. 

Elder  Cushing's  influence  over  Mark  Stedman  was  of 
an  altogether  different  kind.  At  the  time  I  did  not 
•entirely  understand  it,  for  it  was  a  plain  instance  of 
what  is  not  uncommonly  seen  in  the  world,  the  higher 
nature  held  in  complete  possession  and  control  by  the 
lower  one.  Mark's  peculiarly  unworldly  spirit  had  yet 
its  weak  points.  He  was  ambitious,  not  for  money — 
he  despised  it;  not  for  fame — he  despised  that  too,  but 


92  HOLDEK  WITH  CORDS. 

none  the  less. he  longed  in  secret  to  win  that  human 
recognition  and  sympathy  of  which  fame  is  the  mere 
outward  symbol.  And  more  than  all,  he  was  intensely 
curious,  fond  of  prying  into  the  unknown  and  unim- 
agined,  hopeful,  ardent,  unsuspicious,  with  all  the 
harmlessness  of  a  dove,  but  none  of  the  wisdom  of  a 
serpent. 

I  was  disappointed  not  to  hear  the  story  of  his  in- 
itiatory experience  from  his  own  lips,  but  he  was  now 
from  home,  having  secured  a  tutorship  somewhere  in 
the  vicinity  of  New  York  through  the  recommenda- 
tion of  Elder  Cashing,  who  was  naturally  not  ill-pleased 
with  the  opportunity  to  aid  his  young  friend  and  at  the 
same  time  give  him  practical  proof  of  Masonic  influ- 
ence. Truth  to  tell,  I  had  passed  many  disagreeable 
moments  in  reflecting  on  his  probable  state  of  mind 
when  brought  face  to  face  with  those  terrible  u  obliga- 
tions," and  was  not  at  all  surprised  to  hear  from  a  lodge 
acquaintance  that u  Mark  was  a  great  spooney,  who  had 
given  them  more  trouble  than  he  was  worth." 

"  1  thought  we  should  be  all  night  getting  him 
through  the  first  degree.  He  was  just  like  an  old 
bureau  drawer  that  sticks  and  catches  whichever  way 
you  pull  it.  Positively  we  shouldn't  have  got  through 
by  morning  if  we  had  stopped  for  all  the  work  gener- 
ally done.  But  we  skipped  a  few  little  things,  nothing 
very  important,  omitted  to  save  time  and  trouble;  that 
was  all." 

"  Then  I  don't  think  Mark  has  been  regularly  initi- 
ated," said  I,  to  whom  this  revelation  of  lodge  tactics 
was  rather  startling 

"  Oh,  we  asked  lawyer  Bacon  about  that.  He  said  it 
was  all  right.  Lodges  very  often  shorten  the  work 


MARK  A  TROUBLESOME  INITIATE.  93 

when  lack  of  time  or  any  other  reason  makes  it  neces- 
sary. And,  as  I  said,  we  never  should  have  got  through, 
when  we  had  to  meet  his  objections  at  every  step,  and 
spend  an  hour  trying  to  convince  him  that  it  would  all 
be  made  right,  before  he  would  consent  to  go  on,  if  we 
hadn't  done  some  such  way.  But  such  milk-and-water 
chaps  as  Mark  Stedman  ain't  of  much  use  in  the  lodge. 
He'd  better  join  the  church  and  go  to  preaching. ' 

An  opinion  which. Elder  Gushing,  who  had  played  so 
well  the  part  of  Mr.  Worldly  Wiseman  to  Mark's 
spiritual  needs,  did  not  appear  to  share  In  his  zeal  to 
make  proselytes  for  the  lodge  he  had  induced  him  to 
take  the  three  lower  degrees  in  one  night;  a  very  com- 
mon device,  let  me  explain,  and  one  much  resorted  to 
when  there  were  serious  fears  that  the  candidate's  con- 
science would  prove  so  inconveniently  sensitive  as  to 
forbid  his  return  to  the  lodge  after  taking  the  first  de- 
gree, and  if  there  afterwards  remained  the  less  easy 
task  of  pouring  oil  on  the  troubled  waters  of  Mark's 
deeply  disgusted  soul,  it  was  one  to  which  the  Elder 
was  fully  equal.  He  knew  through  long  experience 
that  such  souls  required  very  wily  handling;  that  to 
laugh  in  a  gentle,  deprecatory  fashion,  and  to  say  he 
was  just  like  others,  disappointed  because  Masonry  did 
not  reveal  all  its  beauties  at  first  sight;  to  descant  on 
the  divine  grace  of  patience  as  needful  in  every  searcher 
after  truth,  and  hint  at  the  existence  of  sublime  and 
ineffable  mysteries  of  wisdom,  veiled  in  the  lower  de- 
grees, but  opening  up  in  ever  widening  vistas  to  the 
eyes  of  the  faithful  ones  who  refuse  to  be  deterred  from 
exploring  the  inner  temple  by  the  mass  of  seeming  rub- 
bish encumbering  its  entrance,  was  by  far  the  best  meth- 
od of  proceeding  under  those  particular  circumstances. 


94  HOLDER   WITH   CORDS. 

Rachel  still  adhered  to  her  general  role  of  silence  on 
the  subject,  and  as  I  took  prudent  care  not  to  sa}r  any- 
thing calculated  to  make  her  depart  from  it,  her  only 
allusion  to  the  step  taken  by  her  brother  came  in  the 
form  of  this  very  natural  but  inconvenient  query:  "  1 
want  to  know,  Leander,  what  sort  of  doings  they  can 
have  in  Masonic  lodges  to  send  a  man  home  at  two 
o'clock  in  the  morning  looking  like  death,  as  they  did 
Mark.  He  wasn't  himself  for  a  month  after." 

While  I  could  well  imagine  what  a  shock  to  every 
instinct  of  Mark's  pure  and  high-minded  nature  the 
whole  proceeding  of  initiation  must  have  been,  how 
could  I  answer  Rachel's  question  without  revealing 
what  I  had  sworn  "ever  to  conceal?1' 

"  Why  don't  you  try  to  get  some  information  out  of 
,Mark?v  I  said,  in  a  lame  attempt  to  shirk  the  inquiry. 

"  Exactly  what  I  should  have  done,"  answered  Rachel 
coolly,  "  if  he  hadn't  been  cross  as  a  bear.  I  couldn't 
say  a  word  to  him  about  it  without  being  snapped  up. 
Now,  Mark  was  never  cross  to  me  in  his  life  before,  and 
I  must  say  I  don't  understand  it.  An  institution  so 
k  divine '  as  Masonry  "  (and  here  Rachel's  lips  took  a 
slight  curl)  "  ought  to  send  a  man  home  at  a  decent 
hour,  and  better  instead  of  worse  than  he  went." 

What  could  I  do  but  have  recourse  to  that  standing 
argument  made  and  provided  for  just  such  exigencies: — 

u  Oh,  well,  Rachel,  Masonry  is  a  matter  women  are 
not  expected  to  understand." 

"  I  know  one  woman,"  returned  Rachel,  with  a  very 
decided  snip  of  her  scissors,  u  who  is  capable  of  under- 
standing a  good  many  things  she  is  not  expected  to." 

My  only  answer  was  a  laugh,  but  in  my  secret  soul 
I  wished  Rachel's  assertion  was  not  quite  so  true. 


SAM   TOLLER  AS   A  MASON.  95 

Why  couldn't  she  be  like  my  mother:  a  gentle,  docile, 
trusting  little  woman,  who  never  troubled  her  head 
about  masculine  doings  in  general,  or  those  of  the 
lodge  in  particular,  any  more  than  she  did  about  the 
aberration  of  the  planets.  I  felt  vaguely  dissatisfied 
with  Rachel,  and  vexed  with  myself  for  the  feeling. 
.Even  now  the  hateful  hiss  of  the  serpent  lying  in  wait 
to  spoil  the  fair  Eden  of  our  mutual  love  was  in  my 
ears,  and  though  an  angel  had  stood  in  my  path  to  warn 
me  I  h;id  refused  to  heed  the  message. 

Sam  Toller,  in  his  new  character  of  Mason,  flourished 
greatly.  That  very  morning  the  non-arrival  of  certain 
domestic  necessaries  having  thrown  the  whole  kitchen 
cabinet  into  confusion,  I  found  him  at  the  store,  whither 
I  was  dispatched  by  the  despairing  and  indignant  Miss 
Loker  to  hasten  his  tardy  movements  (Joe  being,  as 
usual,  out  of  the  way  when  most  wanted,)  holding  forth 
to  a  group  of  loungers  on  the  beauties  of  the  institu- 
tion. 

u  Nobody  shall  speak  a  word  agin  it  in  my  hearing," 
he  was  saying  as  I  came  up.  "  It's  a  divinely  appointed 
thing.  That's  the  way  Elder  Gushing  talks,  and  I'll 
stand  by  what  he  says  aginst  the  hull  world.  Why, 
Masonry  is  older  than  Solomon's  temple,  or  the  pyra- 
mids, or  the —  U0h,  you  shut  up,  Sam ;  you  never  was 
a  Mason,"  interrupted  a  skeptical  bystander,  at  which 
Sam,  catching  sight  of  me,  turned  in  aggrieved  appeal. 

"You'll  do  me  a  favor,  Leander  Severns,  to  jest  tell 
this  gentleman  whether  I  be  or  not." 

Actuated  partly  by  the  spirit  of  fun,  I  gave  the  re- 
quired testimony,  which  appeased  Sam's  wounded  dig- 
nity so  far  that  after  casting  a  glance  of  withering  con- 
tempt on  the  unlucky  person  who  was  now  in  the  awk- 


96  HOLDE2ST   WITH   COEDS. 

ward  predicament  of  being  proved  in  the  wrong,  he  pro- 
ceeded with  his  parable. 

kt  She's  the  twin  sister  of  Christianity,  as  you  may 
say;  the  "- 

"  Christianity's  grandmother,  you  mean,"  put  in  the 
irreverent  Joe,  who  sat  kicking  his  heels  against  the 
molasses  hogshead  on  which  he  had  perched  himself  to 
listen  to  Sam's  harangue.  "According  to  your  tell 
she's  two  or  three  thousand  years  the-  oldest.  You 
don't  make  your  talk  hang  together,  Sam." 

There  was  a  general  laugh,  but  Sam,  "  vowing  he 
wouldn't  stand  sarce  from  nobody,  least  of  all  a  boy 
like  Joe,"  turned  in  great  wrath  on  the  latter,  who  ran 
and  leaped  and  dodged,  and  finally  made  his  escape 
through  a  rear  door,  Sam  after  him  in  a  hopeless  chase, 
being  much  too  stout  and  lumberingly  built  to  be  any 
match  for  Joe,  who  was  nearly  as  fleet  of  foot  as  the 
Ashael  of  Scripture. 

As  I  stood  laughing  at  the  absurd  scene,  it  suddenly 
occurred  to  me  how  Joe's  mysterious  knowledge  of 
Masonic  secrets,  hitherto  such  a  baffling  puzzle,  could 
easily  be  accounted  for.  I  knew  the  two  had  been  much 
together,  and  that  Sam  should  incautiously  let  them 
out  to  Joe  was  quite  supposable.  I  was  so  certain  that 
the  bottom  of  the  mystery  was  reached  at  last  that  I 
concluded  to  put  an  inquiry  point  blank  to  the  latter, 
though  I  felt  very  doubtful  about  getting  a  satisfactory 
answer,  for  having  now  been  at  home  an  entire  week  I 
had  ceased  to  be  a  hero  in  Joe's  eyes.  But  when  I  ap- 
proached him  on  the  subject  I  was  agreeably  astonished 
to  find  him  disposed  to  be  frank,  even  confidential. 

"  You  see,  the  fact  is," — and  Joe,  who  was  engaged 
like  Pan  of  old  in  fashioning  a  flute,  not  out  of  a  reed 


A  MODERN  PAN.  97 

from  Eurotas,  but  the  stem  of  a  pumpkin  vine,  went  on 
notching  out  the  stops  with  great  care;  "  Sam  don't 
mean  to  let  out  the  secrets,  and  if  you  asked  him  he'd 
say  he  didn't;  but  when  he  gets  to  talking  they  break 
out,  without  his  knowing  it,  a?  easy  as  water  runs 
through  a  sieve.  He  don't  tell  the  secrets  right  out, 
but  he'll  say  things  that  anybody  that's  sharp  can  pick 
up  and  piece  together  and  so  find  out  a  good  deal.  And 
I've  been  thinking  for  some  time,"  added  Joe,  stopping 
in  his  work  and  looking  serious,  ''that  you'd  better 
give  him  a  hint  to  be  more  careful.  I'm  afraid  he  may 
get  into  trouble.  But  I  keep  mum  about  everything 
he  has  let  out  to  me.  You  needn't  be  afraid.  Only  if 
you  say  anything  to  him,  don't  let  him  know  what  I've 
told  you.  It  would  only  make  him  mad." 

I  promised,  inwardly  resolving  to  lose  no  time  in 
warning  Sam  to  be  more  mindful  in  future  of  his  Ma- 
sonic requirements.  And  Joe,  having  ended  his  revela- 
tions, which  made  me  the  more  uneasy  from  their  vague 
and  indefinite  character,  applied  his  lips  to  the  primi- 
tive wind  instrument  before  mentioned,  and  blew  a 
most  un-Panlike  strain." 

Half  an  hour  later,  had  I  been  gifted  with  clairvoy- 
ant vision,  I  might  have  seen  the  two,  their  difference 
of  the  morning  happily  forgotten,  engaged  in  close  con- 
ference, much  interrupted  by  sundry  chuckles  on  Sam's 
part,  and  perfect  convulsions  of  smothered  laughter  on 
Joe's. 


CHAPTER   XII. 

A  FEW  MASONIC   PUZZLES. 

ACHEL    mid    I   were   married   one   fair 
Autumn  day  that  seemed  to  have  gath- 
ered into  itself  all  the  ripeness  and  glory 
of  the  summer  that  had  fled — a  day  like 
an  embodied  Psalm-tune.    And  the  world 
lay  all   before  us,  young,  ignorant,  untried 
souls;  in  the  mysterious  economy  of  divine 
law,  twain  no  longer,  but  one  flesh. 

We  set  up  housekeeping  as  happy  as  any  pair 
of  robins  that  ever  rented  an  apple  tree,  and  as  full  of 
abounding  hope  for  the  morrow.  We  had  plenty  of 
friends,  and  not  an  enemy  that  we  knew  of;  we  had 
youth  and  health,  and  implicit  faith  in  one  another; 
what  else  could  we  want  more?  Had  the  question 
been  put  to  me  I  should  have  answered,  "  Nothing;" 
and  Rachel,  covering  up  the  unsatisfied  longings  of  her 
soul  with  all  the  little  joyful  cares  of  a  newly  wedded 
wife,  would  very  likely  have  said  the  same. 

Brownsville  was  a  prosperous  village  not  far  from 
the  lake-shore  of  northwestern  New  York, — a  peace- 
able, law-abiding  community,  where  the  high-handed 
crimes  that  shock  newspaper  readers  of  to-day  were 
utterly  unheard  of,  and  people  went  to  bed  at  night 
without  bolting  their  doors.  -Most  of  the  inhabitants 
were  of  New  England  birth,  and  had  brought  with 


A   FEW  MASONIC   PUZZLES.  9 

them  all  the  thrift  and  forehandedness  indigenous  to 
the  soil  of  the  Pilgrims.  My  grandfather's  family, 
as  also  the  Stedman's,  came  from  a  quiet  old  town  near 
Boston,  which  had  given  a  Governor  to  the  State,  to 
say  nothing  of  lawyers,  clergymen  and  legislators,  who 
had  further  distinguished  its  annals,  ancKn  whose  ranks 
Mark  Stedman  might  have  stood,  had  not  Destiny 
seemingly  blocked  his  way  by  decreeing  at  the  outset 
an  altogether  different  life. 

But  like  all  noble  souls  he  had  the  seeds  of  victory 
within  him.  The  rough  labor  of  the  farm  hardened 
muscles  and  sinews,  and  the  long  winter  evenings 
passed  in  solitary  wrestling  with  his  books,  devoloped 
a  sturdy  self-relianco  worth  more  than  all  the  discipline 
of  the  universities.  And  thus  Mark  Stedman  had 
grown  up  as  true  an  offshoot  of  Puritan  thought  and 
culture  as  if  he  had  walked  all  his  life  under  the 
shadowy  elms  of  his  New  England  birthplace. 

Sam  Toller  hailed  from  New  Hampshire,  but  though 
of  genuine  Yankee  stock,  he  was,  as  we  have  seen,  a 
a  degenerate  plant,  so  far  as  industry  and  faculty  for 
getting  ahead  was  concerned.  But  after  all,  Sam  had 
plenty  of  faculty  of  a  certain  kind;  his  very  laziness 
and  shiftlessness,  I  am  inclined  to  think,  were  nothing 
but  their  Yankee  opposites  turned  wrong  side  out.  And 
as  no  woman  had  ever  been  found  insane  enough  to 
unite  her  fortune  with  his,  he  managed,  in  the  absence 
of  any  family  to  support,  to  get  along  very  well, — that 
especial  Providence  which  is  said  to  u  watch  over  the 
lame  and  the  lazy  "  not  being  remiss  in  its  kindly  care 
of  Sam  Toller. 

•  The  first  chance  I  could  get  to  privately  remind  him 
of  his  Masonic  oath  to  secrecy  I  took  care  to  improve, 


100  HOLDER  WITH  COEDS. 

but  it  required  all  the  tact  of  which  I  was  master 
neither  to  betray  Joe  as  my  informant  in  this  matter, 
nor  give  mortal  offense  to  Sam  himself,  who  was  at  first 
inclined  to  take  in  high  dudgeon  the  charge  of  having 
even  unwittingly  betrayed  any  of  the  secrets. 

k%  Wall,  yeVe  kinder  hurt  my  feelings,  Leander,"  he 
said  at  last,  rather  more  amicably.  *"  J  vow,  I  never 
thought  of  such  a  thing  as  lettin'out  anything  I  hadn't 
orter." 

"Oh,  well;  you  never  meant  to,  Sam,"  I  answered, 
soothingly.  "  But  the  queerest  thing  about  it  is  why 
you've  never  let  us  know  before  that  you  were  a  Mason.'* 

Sam  scratched  his  head  reflectively  for  an  instant, 
before  replying. 

pt  Ye  see  there  wan't  no  lodge  in  the  place  where  I 
lived  afore  I  came  to  Brownsville.  Now  you  go  where 
there  ain't  no  lodge  and  stay  a  dozen  years  and  ye'll 
a'most  forget  ye  ever  was  a  Mason.  But  come  to  a 
place  like  this  where  there's  a  lodge  wide  awake  and 
progressing  and  all  yer  old  feelin's  begin  to  siir.  That's 
natur'  now.  And  then  Elder  Cushing's  talk  when  he 
preached  the  funeral  sermon  for  yer  Uncle  Jerry  kinder 
stirred  'em  up  more.  That's  natur'  agin,  for  I  thought 
a  sight  of  yer  Uncle  Jerry." 

And  Sam  heaved  a  befitting  sigh. 

I  felt  satisfied  with  an  explanation  so  reasonable,  and 
allowed  him  to  depart  without  further  questioning.. 
The  whole  subject  of  Masonry  was  so  involved  with 
wearisome  and  perplexing  pros  and  cons,  that  I  hardly 
knew  what  to  think.  For  on  the  one  hand  were  there 
not  general  principles  of  virtue  and  morality  set  forth 
in  the  charges  and  lectures,  to  which  Socrates  himself 
eould  not  have  objected?  truisms  that  were  old  as  the 


A   FEW  MASONIC   PURZLES.  101 

fact  of  human  existence,  and  just  as  indisputable? 
And  on  the  other  hand  were  there  not  many  things 
about  it  that  even  my  grandfather,  with  all  his  venera- 
tion for  the  institution,  found  it  easier  to  excuse  than 
defend?  It  was  a  relief  to  think  that  now  Rachel  and 
I  were  married,  1  could  fulfill  my  resolve  to  Mrs.  Hagan, 
and  tacitly  drop  all  these  troubfesome  questions  by  the 
very  easy  and  simple  process  of  never  appearing  at  a 
lodge  meeting! 

Mark  was  not  at  the  wedding,  but  gained  a  brief  re- 
lease in  the  latter  part  of  November,  and  took  Rachel 
and  me  by  surprise, walking  in  just  as  the  table  was  set 
for  tea. 

Of  course  he  had  much  to  tell  us, — about  his  school 
and  divers  matters  of  interest  pertaining  to  the  great 
world  in  general,  whose  distant  pulse-beats  were  felt  so 
faintly  in  Brownsville.  In  truth  we  were  all  proud  of 
Mark.  He  was  the  scholar  of  the  family,  of  whom  the 
minister,  and  the  school  committee,  and,  in  short,  all 
those  village  dignitaries  supposed  to  have  peculiar  in- 
sight into  the  destinies  of  the  rising  generation,  had 
prophesied  great  things  from  his  very  cradle,  while  it 
had  been  settled  at  many  sewing  circles  and  Sunday 
noon  conclaves  that  he  would  certainly  make  a  preach- 
er; the  fact  that  he  was  "  serious,"  in  the  common  re- 
ligious phrase  of  that  day,  seeming  to  form  some  solid 
basis  for  the  general  confidence.  Mark's  naturally 
sweet  and  humble  spirit  was  not  spoiled  by  the  more 
discriminating  praise  of  the  intellectual  circles  in 
which  his  lot  was  now  cast.  He  came  home  as  ready 
to  shake  hands  with  Sam  Toller  as  if  he  had  not  act- 
ually had  the  honor  at  some  school  celebration  of 
shaking  hands  with  Governor  DeWitt  Clinton  himself  1 


102  HOLDER  WITH  COEDS. 

Sam,  by  the  way,  still  took  special  delight  in  gather- 
ering  around  him,  at  every  convenient  opportunity,  a 
crowd  of  village  loafers  and  small  boys  to  whom  he 
would  hold  forth  by  the  hour  together,  or  at  least  so 
long  as  their  patience  lasted,  in  a  similar  strain  to  that 
recorded  in  the  previous  chapter;  while  Joe,  who 
usually  contrived  to  be  roosting  near,  would  intersperse 
a  running  fire  of  witticisms,  to  the  great  displeasure  of 
Sam,  and  the  equally  high  delight  of  the  audience, 
whose  generally  un- Masonic  character  may  easily  be 
inferred  from  its  material  as  given  above.  And  the 
very  next  day  Mark  and  I  happened  to  be  eye-witnesses 
to  one  of  these  scenes. 

Sam,  not  unlike  some  more  distinguished  Masonic 
orators,  thought  nothing  of  going  back  several  thousand 
years  in  search  of  shining  examples  wherewith,  to 
glorify  the  craft.  He  was  now  boldly  averring  that 
Adam  was  not  only  the  first  man  but  the  first  Mason, 
at  which  Joe  elevated  his  eyebrows  portentously. 

"Phew!  what  a  jolly  time  old  Father  Adam  must 
have  had  with  only  Eve  to  play  l  cowan  and  eaves- 
dropper.' And  how  about  his  Masonic  apron,  Sam? 
Oh,  I  forgot;  he  wore  one  of  fig-leaves,  didn't  he?  Ex- 
cuse me  for  interrupting." 

And  Joe  subsided  once  more  into  the  character  of  an 
attentive  and  humble  listener. 

Mark  was  biting  his  lips  with  suppressed  laughter, 
for  he  saw  another  listener  of  whom  neither  Sam  nor 
Joe  were  aware — no  less  a  personage  than  Elder  Gush- 
ing himself,  it  being  in  the  public  room  of  the  tavern, 
a  most  important  institution  in  those  pre-railroad 
times,  where  all  the  news,  local  and  political,  were  dis- 
cussed over  mugs  of  flip  with  more  or  less  ardor  and 


A  FEW  MASONIC   PUZZLES.  103 

interest,  that  this  little  scene  took  place.  The  Elder 
having  some  business  with  the  landlord  had  gone  into 
a  private  room  to  transact  it,  and  now  stepped  out  just 
in  time  to  hear  both  statement  and  commentaiy. 

u  My  friend,"  he  said,  clearing  his  throat  and  speak- 
ing to  Sam  with  a  condescending  smile,  u  I  fear  you  are 
meddling  with  matters  too  high  ior  you.  Masons  can 
help  the  order  best,  not  by  talking  about  it  but  by  living 
up  to  its  principles.  Yet  the  divine  truths  of  Masonry 
being  eternal  and  given  to  man  long  before  they  were 
embodied  in  set  forms,  while  its  symbols  are  old  as  na- 
ture herself,  it  follows  that  in  a  certain  sense  all  the 
wise  and  great  of  past  ages  may  be  classed  in  the  order. 
The  precepts  of  Masonry,'1  added  the  Elder,  turning 
from  Sam  and  making  his  remarks  general,  ^were 
doubtless  communicated  to  our  first  father,  and  thus 
Adam  may  unquestionably  be  called  the  first  Mason." 

And  having  thus  cleverly  rescued  the  whole  subject 
from  the  hands  of  the  zealous  but  indiscreet  Sam,  Elder 
Gushing  came  forward  to  greet  Mark,  whom  he  had  not 
seen  before  since  his  arrival. 

The  low-toned  conversation  which  followed  I  did  not 
hear,  but  Mark  himself  unconsciously  supplied  the  key 
to  this  and  many  subsequent  talks  with  his  minister, 
by  abruptly  inquiring  on  the  last  night  of  his  stay: 

"Leander,  did  youVyer  think  you  would  like  to  take 
the  upper  degrees  in  Masonry?1' 

"  Mark,"  said  I,  facing  round  on  him,  "  I  wouldn't 
go  through  such  a  torn-fool  exhibition  again  as  I  did  on 
the  night  I  was  made  a  Master  Mason  for  all  the  wis- 
dom of  Solomon.  I  never  in  my  life  felt  so  thoroughly 
degraded  as  when  I  lay  on  the  lodge  floor  shamming 
Hiram  Abiff.19  And  now,  Mark,  as  you  are  more  learned 
than  I,  pray  tell  me  where  Masons  get  that  story  ?  Not 


NOTE  19.  —  "We  readily  recognize  In  Hiram  Abiff,  one  of  the  Grand  Masters  of 
Freemasons:  the  Osiris  of  the  Egyptians,  the  Mithras  of  the  Persians,  the  Bac- 
chus of  the  Greeks,  the  Dionysius  of  the  Fraternity  of  Artificers,  and  the  Atys 
of  the  Phrygians,  whose  passion,  death  and  resurrection  were  celebrated  by 
these  people  respectively.  For  many  apes  and  everywh  re  Masons  have  cele- 
brated the  death  of  Hiram  Abiff."— Piersou's  Traditions^  p.  240. 


104  HOLDER  WITH  CORDS. 

in  the  Bible,  surely;  and  I've  looked  all  through  the 
Apocrypha,  and  taken  down  Josephus  on  purpose  to  see, 
and  not  a  hint  of  it  can  I  find  anywhere.  Catch  me 
believing  that  Hiram  was  murdered  by  three  ruffians 
because  he  refused  to  give  them  the  Master's  word,  and 
tumbled  into  a  grave  under  an  acacia  tree,  and  then 
raised  to  life  again  by  Solomon  on  the  five  points  of 
fellowship -after  he  had  been  dead  fifteen  days  so  that 
the  flesh  slipped  from  the  bones!  Sam  Toller's  toughest 
yarns  wouldn't  be  a  circumstance  to  swallow  beside  it." 

"Elder  Gushing  admits  that  there  is  no  such  story 
in  any  of  the  ancient  writers,"  answered  Mark.  "He 
says  the  true  light  in  which  to  regard  the  legend  is  that 
of  a  pure  myth,  whose  origin  is  lost  in  the  obscurity  of 
past  ages;  but  which,  as  used  in  the  lodge  to-day,  has 
a  most  important  symbolical  meaning,  as  typifying  the 
struggle  and  final  triumph  of  light  over  darkness,  life 
over  death,  and  good  over  evil  in  the  final  millennium 
of  the  world.'' 

"Oh,  well,  Mark,  I  am  not  mystical  and  poetical 
like  you;  I  am  plain  and  practical  and  don't  see  any  of 
these  superfine  meanings.  But  I  do  see  one  thing — 
why  it  hasn't  disappointed20  you  as  it  has  me." 

"Oh,  Leander,"'  said  Mark,  eagerly,  "I  was  disap- 
pointed, only  the  word  does  not  begin  to  express  what 
I  felt.  I  was  almost  crazy,  I  verily  believe,  with  cha- 
grin and  mortification,  it  was  all  so  different  from  what 
I.  expected.  I  told  Elder  Gushing  that  I  would  never 
go  near  the  lodge  again,  and  I  thoroughly  meant  it. 
But  he  says  if  1  will  only  have  patience  to  go  on  and 
take  the  ineffable  degrees  the  things  that  trouble  me  so 

NOTE  20.—  "It  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful,  but  at  the  same  time  most  ab- 
struse doctrines  of  the  science  of  Masonic  symbolism,  that  the  Mason  is  ever  to 
be  in  the  search  of  truth,  but  is  never  to  find  it.  And  this  is  intended  to  teach 
the  humiliating  but  necessary  lesson,  that  the  knowledge  of  the  nature  of  God, 
and  of  man's  relation  to  him,  which  knowledge  constitutes  divine  truth,  can 
never  be  acquired  in  this  \\.tQ."—Mackey'8  Ritualist,  p.  106. 


A   FEW   MASONIC   PUZZLES.  105 

will  all  be  explained;  that  it  is  quite  natural  1  should 
feel  dissatisfied  now,  for  it  is  just  as  if  I  had  read  only 
Leviticus- and  Deuteronomy  and  knew  nothing  about 
the  rest  of  the  Bible.  He  says  the  ineffable  degrees  are 
to  the  others  what  the  gospel  is  to  the  law,  interpret- 
ing their  hidden  meanings,  and  even  throwing  light  on 
sonle  of  the  difficult  passages  in  Revelations  and  the 
Epistles  of  St.  John.  And  he  is  a  member  of  the  Lodge 
of  Perfection  himself;  he  ought  to  know,"  added  Mark, 
simply. 

I  was  silent,  for  what  was  I  that  I  should  dispute 
what  Elder  Gushing  said? 

INow.  if  any  reader  wonders  that  Mark  Stedman 
should  have  been  willing,  even  on  the  .strength  of  his 
pastor's  persuasions,  to  search  farther  into  Masonic 
mysteries  in  the  face  of  continual  disappointment,  1 
can  only  say  that  on  some  souls  they  act  like  an  intox- 
icating drug,  and  this  was  the  case  with  Mark.  Every 
bitter  waking  from  his  dream  found  him  like  the  opium 
eater,  more  than  ever  under  the  spell  of  the  enchanting 
delusion.  Every  failure  to  find  what  he  sought  but . 
whetted  his  hope  that  farther  on  wonderful  secrets 
awaited  him,  shining  jewels  of  truth  to  rejoice  his  soul 
forever,  hidden  treasures  of  wisdom  for  time  and  eter- 
nity. 

Oh,  Mark.  Mark!  turning  away  from  the  green 
pastures  and  still  waters  of  Christ's  blessed  salvation, 
what  shall  be  said  of  the  so-called  shepherd  who  lured 
you  on? 

A  few  days  afterwards  I  was  accosted  by  Joe  with  the 
inquiry: 

4'Have  you  said  anything  to  Sam  yet?" 


106  HOLDEN   WITH   COEDS. 

"  I  just  spoke  to  him  and  advised  him  to  be  more 
careful.  Why?" 

"Oh,  nothing;  it's  no  affair  of  mine,  of  course," 
answered  Joe,  with  the  virtuous  air  of  a  person  not 
disposed  to  put  his  fingers  unwarrantably  into  any- 
body's pie  but  his  own;  "  only  I  thought  it  might  be  a 
little  awkward  for  Sam  if  they  should  ever  get  wind  of 
it  in  the  lodge.  And  Sam  is  a  good  fellow  enough;  I 
don't  like  the  idea  of  his  getting  into  any  trouble." 

The  foregoing  is  a  specimen  of  divers  dark  hints  by 
which,  without  clearly  asserting  anything  in  particular, 
Joe  had  managed  for  some  time  past  to  keep  me  on 
pins,  metaphorically  speaking. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

MASONIC   BONDAGE — SAM    TOLLER'S   AFFAIRS. 

N  spite  of  much  persuasion,  mingled  with 
good-humored  bantering,  I  persisted  in 
absenting  myself  entirely  from  thelodgei 
until   one  day   I  received  notice  of  an 
extra  meeting  of  special  importance,  at 
which  my  presence  was  imperatively  de- 
manded.    Accordingly   I  said   to  Rachel, 
er  sapper, — 

'I  am  going  to  the  lodge  to-night.  They 
say  it  is  an  important  meeting,  and  I  really  don't  know 
but  I  ought  to  attend,  at  least  now  and  then." 

"  Which  one  of  your  duties,  as  a  man  and  a  citizen, 
will  suffer  most  if  you  stay  away?"  asked  Rachel,  dry- 
ly, as  she  stood  rinsing  cups  and  saucers  at  the  sink. 

u  Don't  be  foolish,  Rachel.  You  know  I  hardly  spend 
an  evening  away  from  home." 

u  Now,  Leander,"  and  Rachel  set  down  the  cup  she 
was  wiping  and  spoke  earnestly,  u  I  am  not  one  of 
these  silly  wives  who  are  miserable  if  they  can't  have 
every  atom  of  their  husband's  time  and  attention.  If 
this  was  a  public  meeting,  and  the  business  to  be 
transacted  involved  public. interest,  I  would  say,  'Go; 
by  all  means.''  1  should  despise  myself  if  I  wanted  to 
keep  you  from  doing  your  duty." 


108  HOLDER   WITH   CORDS. 

"  But  supposing  it  is  a  duty,  a  solemn  and  bounden 
duty,  for  me  to  go  to-night.'' 

al  can  suppose  that,''  said  Rachel,  slowly;  "but 
have  I  not  a  right  to  know  what  makes  it  your  duty? 
How  can  we  be  really  and  truly  one  with  secrets  be- 
tween us?  I  read  somewhere  that  a  secret  between 
married  people  was  like  a  slow  poison  to  affection." 

u  Must  be  very  slow  indeed,  Rachel.  There's  Deacon 
Winship  and  his  wife,  and  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Starr — devoted 
couples,  and  they've  been  married  over  a  quarter  of  a 
century.  Deacon  Winship  and  Dr.  Starr  are  both 
Masons,  you  know." 

Rachel  made  no  answer.  She  was  setting  up  dishes 
and  possibly  did  not  hear  me;  but  she  had  by  no  means 
done  with  the  subject,  for  when  she  had  just  put  away 
the  last  plate  and  hung  the  towel  on  the  rack  to  dry, 
she  again  resumed  it. 

uLeander,  you  remember  when  the  Freemasons  laid 
the  corner-stone  of  the  new  court-house.  Well,  now, 
in  front  of  the  procession,  carrying  the  Bible,  walked 
a  man  whom  I  know  to  be  a  profane  swearer.  Side  by 
side  with  Deacon  Winship  I  saw  Colonel  Perkins,  a 
hard  drinker,  and  people  say  that  he  breaks  the  seventh 
Commandment.  I  could  name  others  in  that  proces- 
sion, some  of  the  hardest  characters  in  town,  but  they 
were  walking  on  equal  footing  with  the  rest.  I  never 
want  to  see  you  in  such  company,  Leander." 

Now  as  I  happened  to  be  a  spectator  of  this  venr 
procession  and  a  witness  of  these  very  same  facts,  I 
could  only  take  refuge  in  the  old  threadbare  argument; 

"  But,  Rachel,  there  were  good  men  there." 

"  Then  am  I  to  suppose  that  you  would  have  no  ob- 
jection to  seeing  me  in  a  procession,  side  by  side  witl] 


MASOKIC  BONDAGE.  109 

women  of  known  bad  character,  if  only  there  was  a 
sufficient  sprinkling  of  good  women  there  to  throw  over 
it  a  mantle  of  general  respectability?"  inquired  Rachel, 
with  dry  sarcasm. 

"Oh,  but  that  is  a  little  different.  Men  and  women 
are  not  alike,  you  know,"  I  answered^,  in  the  great 
scarcity  of  original  arguments  making  use  of  one  that 
I  had  better  have  let  alone — at  least  when  arguing  with 
Kachel. 

"  Why  not,  Leander,"  she  asked,  quickly;  "when  it- 
is  a  plain  question  of  morals  I  believe  both  sexes  stand 
before  their  Grod  on  the  same  plane.  Are  the  Ten  Com- 
mandments less  binding  on  men  than  women?" 

"  Why,  of  course  not.1' 

"  Then  don't  tell  me  that  a  man,  because  he  is  a  man, 
can  touch  uncleanness  and  not  be  defiled,  while  a 
woman,  because  she  is  a  woman,  cannot  come  within  a 
stone's  throw  of  it  without  risk  of  pollution.  But  to 
come  back  to  the  question  our  talk  started  from;  what 
maizes  it  your  duty  to  go  to-night?" 

Should  I  tell  Rachel  that  the  notice  I  had  received 
was  actually  a  summons41  which  no  Mason  could  disre- 
gard without  incurring  the  displeasure  of  the  secret 
power  set  over  him,  and  risking  such  punishment  as 
'Masonic  law  might  see  best  to  inflict?  That  I,  a  free- 
man, with  the  old  free  Puritan  blood  in  my  veins,  the 
blood  of  men  that  had  marched  to  victory  with  Crom- 
well and  carried  their  hatred  of  priestly  and  kingly 
tyranny  over  the  seas;  that  had  fought  at  Bunker  Hill 
and  starved  at  Valley  Forge,  was  in  reality  no  freeman 
at  all,  but  a  bond  slave,  bound  hand  and  foot  to  a  des- 
potic tribunal,  whose  mandate  I  did  not  dare  disobey? 
What  remained  for  me  but  to  say,  with  an  injured  air: 

NOTE  21  —"A  '  due  summons'  from  the  lodge  or  Grand  Lodge  is  obligatory 
upon  him;  should  he  refuse  obedience  he  will  be  disgracefully  expelled  fiom  the 
society  with  public  marks  of  ignominy  that  can  never  be  erased."— Morris's 
Dictionary,  Art.  Authority. 


110  HOLDEtf  WITH  CORDS. 

"Now,  Rachel;  I  should  think  you  might  trust  me 
a  little  better  than  this.  I  don't  dictate  to  you  about 
your  duty  and  you  mustn't  to  me  about  mine." 

Rachel  "dictated  "  no  more.  But  it  is  easy  to  see 
that  such  a  conversation  between  a  newly-married  hus- 
band and  wife  can  hardly  tend  to  mutual  agreement 
and  concord.  Rachel's  feelings  were  hurt  and  she 
showed  it — not  by  tears  or  any  sharp  retort,  but  by 
utter  silen ce . .  To  her  brave,  open  nature,  such  shirking 
of  plain,  honest  questions,  was  contemptible;  she  could 
neither  understand  nor  quietly  let  it  drop  as  a  thing 
that  did  not  concern  her — all  which  characteristics  I 
will  pause  to  remark  are,  for  very  obvious  reasons,  ex- 
tremely inconvenient  in  the  wives  of  Masonic  husbands- 

As  a  result  of  this  meeting  of  the  lodge,  (which  I  of 
course  attended  in  obedience  to  the  Master  Mason's 
oath,  which  among  its  other  easy  and  modest  require- 
ments bound  me  to  "  obey  all  signs  and  summons  given, 
handed,  sent  or  thrown  from  the  hand  of  a  brother  or 
the  body  of  a  lawfully  constituted  lodge.1')  I  might 
have  been  seen  the  next  day  in  close  conference  with 
Sam  Toller.  Two  lines  of  a  certain  patriotic  ditty,  very 
popular  in  its  day, — 

' '  The  British  yoke  and  the  Gallic  chain, 
Was  urged  upon  our  necks  In  vain,'1 

lustily  sung,  guided  me  to  the  "  corner  lot"  where  he 
was  cutting  wood,  and  seating  myself  on  a  great  hicko- 
ry log,  while  Sam,  nowise  loth,  did  the  same,  I  un- 
folded to  him  my  errand,  which  was  simply  this: — 

Joe,  after  all,  was  right  in  his  hints.  Sam's  easjT- 
going  tongue  had  been  allowed  to  wag  too  long,  and 
though  the  lodge  had  been  slow  in  taking  cognizance 
of  the  matter,  a  vague  rumor  that  lie  was  "  free  with 


SAM  TOLLER'S  AFFAIRS.  Ill 

the  secrets  "  had  got  about.  Hence  the  meeting  and 
the  special  summons  to  me,  for  as  Sam  lived  at  my 
grandfather's,  having  been  engaged  to  do  the  general 
chores,  it  was  not  unreasonably  presumed  that  I  might 
give  some  information  on  the  subject,  though,  as  the 
reader  has  seen,  I  knew  absolutely  nothing  except  the 
few  facts  elicited  from  Joe.  But  many  in  the  lodge 
and  not  a  few  outside  held  the  opinion  that  Sam  was 
never  a  regularly-made  Mason,  and  certainly  grave 
doubts  might  justly  be  entertained  of  such  newly- 
fledged  claims  considered  in  the  light  of  his  previous 
reticence,  which  was,  to  say  the  least,  marvelously  out 
of  keeping  with  Sam's  ordinary  characteristics. 

But  how  to  shut  his  mouth!  This  was  the  vexed 
question  that  agitated  Brownsville  lodge. 

Finally  one  of  the  older  members,  considered  a  very 
Ahithophel  for  wise  counsel,  advised  the  brethren  to 
adopt  a  course  which  he  had  known  to  be  pursued  in  a 
very  similar  case  by  a  lodge  in  Rhode  Island.  Induce 
Sam  Toller  either  by  persuasions  or  threats  to  take  the 
Entered  Apprentice  oath.  This  would  place  him  un- 
equivocally under  Masonic  law  and  probably  check 
further  indiscretions  of  speech. 

Interest  in  Sam  and  a  desire  to  stand  his  friend  now 
that  his  garrulousness  seemed  likely  to  get  him  into 
trouble  with  the  lodge,  made  me  willing  to  take  upon 
myself  the  task  of  bringing  about  this  desirable  result. 
Hence  the  interview. 

Sam,  however,  took  the  proposal  very  coolly. 

u  Wall,  I  dunno;  I'll  think  about  it,"  he  said,  after 
he  had  chewed  a  sprig  of  checkerberry  for  a  moment 
in  silence.  "  If  I've  jined  once  what's  the  use  of  my 
jining  over  again?'' 


112  HOLDER  WITH  CORDS. 

"  To  tell  the  truth,  Sam,  I  don't  feel  sure  about  that. 
Have  you  any  objections  to  letting  me  test  you?" 

Sam  grinned,  but  u  had  no  objections/'  and  would 
have  passed  the  test  very  well,  but  unluckily  gave  the 
password  for  the  Entered  Apprentice  Degree  as  Jachin, 
when  it  should  have  been  Boaz,  and  in  the  Fellow  Craft 
as  Boaz,  when  it  should  have  been  Jachin,  and  also 
transposed  the  grips.  While  this  might  have  been  a 
mere  lapse  of  memory  on  Sam's  part,  as  he  had  always 
professed  to  have  become  a  Mason  in  some  very 
remote  era  of  his  existence,  it  naturally  gave  some 
color  to  the  suspicion  that  he  had  gained  his  knowledge 
outside  of  the  lodge-room. 

"  Sam,"  said  I,  severely,  "  this  is  a  serious  matter, 
and  it  would  be  better  for  you  to  tell  the  truth  at  once. 
If  you  are  only  playing  a  trick;  if  you  have  got  hold 
of  the  secrets  someway  and  are  passing  yourself  off  as 
a  Mason  when  you  are  not,  why,  it  is  all  the  better  for 
you,  if  you  will  only  own  up.  For  a  Mason  to  betray 
the  secrets  of  the  order  is  considered  a  high  crime  in 
the  lodge,  and  punishable  by  the  severest  penalties 
Masonic  law  can  inflict." 

"  Wall,  now,  the  wust  thing,  I  take  it,  that  the  law 
of  the  land  can  do  to  a  man,  is  to  hang  him  by  the  neck 
till  he  is  dead,''  coolly  replied  Sam;  "maybe  the  Ma- 
sonic law  is  su'tMn'  like  that." 

It  was  impossible  to  guess  how  much  or  how  little 
Sam  meant.  I  was  silent,  but  shivered  inwardly  under 
the  weight  of  an  awful  remembrance. 

Sam  was  silent  too  for  a  moment  and  then  brought 
his  hand  down  on  my  shoulder  with  a  resounding  clap. 

"  I'll  own  up,  honor  bright.     I  never  was  inside  a 


SAM  TOLLER'S  AFFAIRS.  113 

lodge  in  my  life.     Now  how  d'ye  suppose  I  ever  got 
hold  of  the  secrets?" 

"  I  can't  imagine,  Sam." 

u  Wall,  now,"  said  Sam,  speaking  in  a  slow,  ruminat- 
ing fashion,  "  supposin'  1  was  on  intimate  tarms,  as  ye 
may  say,  with  a  Mason  that  got  drunk  off  and  on. 
Couldn't  I  get  'em  so?  "Or,  supposin'  I  overheard  some 
talk  between  two  Masons  where  one  was  a  trying  to 
post  up  the  other  in  matters  pertaining  to  the  lodge. 
Couldn't  I  get  'em  easy  that  way?" 

"  Why  yes,  Sam;  only  listening  is  rather  mean  busi- 
ness." 

u  Or  suppose,"  continued  Sam,  not  heeding  my  re- 
mark, but  going  on  complacently  with  his  brilliant 
little  fictions,  u  I  was  set  to  sweep  out  a  room  that  had 
been  used  for  a  lodge,  and  I  should  come  across  some 
papers  with  the  secrets  all  writ  out  on  'em  jist  as  they 
were  employed  by  the  members  when  their  memories 
needed  a  little  refreshin',  couldn't  I  pick  'em  up  and 
etow  'em  away  in  my  pocket  for  contemplation  in 
leisure  hours?" 

u  Have  you  got  them  now,  Sam?*'  I  inquired,  rather 
skeptically. 

u  Haint  told  ye  yet  that  I  ever  clapped  eyes  on  the 
fust  thing  of  that  nater." 

And  Sam  chewed  checkerberry  leaves  with  exasper- 
ating coolness. 

"  Now,  Sam,  I  might  as  well  tell  you  that  the  lodge 
is  pretty  well  stirrec^  up  over  this  matter.  You  had 
better  take  my  advice,  and  if  you  are  prudent  in  future 
all  the  fuss  will  blow  over.  But  really,  without  any 
fooling,  how  did  you  get  hold  of  our  secrets,  anyway?" 

"  Ax  me  no  questions,  Leander  Severns,  and  I'll  tell 


114  HOLDER  WITH  COEDS. 

you  no  lies,"  answered  Sam,  with  a  curious  smile. 
"  But  about  jining  the  lodge,  as  ye~*re  so  kind  as  to  be 
particular  sot  on't,  why,  I'll  think  it  over." 

But  Sum  Toller's  name  never  adorned  the  roll  of 
membership  in  Brownsville  lodge.  One  or  two  morn- 
ings after  there  was  no  one  but  Joe  to  do  the  daily 
chores  at  my  grandfather's,  while  a  visit  to  the  chamber 
where  he  slept  demonstrated  the  fact  that  he  had  been 
gone  all  night. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

A   DECLARATION   OF    INDEPENDENCE— NOT    OF   76. — SAM 
TOLLER  MISSING. 

F  I  really  thought  any  harm  had  come 
to  Sam,  said  my  grandfather,"  as  he 
stirred  his  cup  of  rye  coffee  rather  un- 
easily, "  I  couldn't  rest  till  the  neigh- 
borhood had  been  searched;  but  he  was 
such  a  queer  fish,  it  would  be  just  like  him 
to  take  himself  off  on  the  sly  and  let  no- 
body know.  I  only  wish  I  could  be  certain 
nothing  had  happened  to  him." 
But  Miss  Loker,  in  whose  good  graces  Sam  had 
never  stood  very  high,  rather  scoffed  at  my  grandfather's 
fears.  For  her  part  she  thought  it  was  a  good  riddance, 
and  as  for  hunting  for  him,  they  might  as  well  hunt  for 
last  year's  swallows. 

^  And  Sam  didn't  drink.  He  couldn't  have  stepped 
off  the  bridge  and  got  drowned  like  Homer  Sprague." 
put  in  my  mother. 

As  Sam  bore  the  character  of  a  kind  of  half  tramp 
from  whom  erratic  leave-takings  were  to  be  expected, 
his  first  advent  in  Brownsville  having  been  on  much 
the  same  sudden  and  unexplained  order  as  his  going, 
his  disappearance  was  more  of  a  puzzle  to  us  than  an 
actual  anxiety.  He  had,  in  truth,  one  of  those  unsettled, 


116  HOLDER  WITH  CORPS. 

roving  natures,  to  be  found  more  or  less  in  all  national- 
ities, and  perhaps  as  often  among  a  staid  New  England 
population  as  anj^where,  though  in  the  simple  times  of 
which  1  am  writing,  when  the  yearly  rush  of  summer 
travel  was  a  thing  yet  to  come  in  with  the  age  of  steam 
and  telegraphs,  we  had  not  earned  our  present  reputa- 
tion of  being  about  the  most  restless  and  change-loving 
of  any  civilized  people  011  the  face  of  the  earth. 

"I'm  sure  its  clear  money  in  my  pocket  to  have  Sam 
go,"  said  my  grandfather,  draining  his  coffee  cup, 
though  with  an  air  that  was  far  from  being  exactly 
satisfied.  'He  had  good  living  here  and  more  wages  by 
half  than  the  work  he  did  was  worth;  he's  welcome  to 
better  himself  if  he  can." 

Joe  alone,  of  all  the  family,  proffered  no  remarks, 
but  on  getting  up  from  the  table  he  slipped  three  or 
four  doughnuts  into  his  pocket,  together  with  a  large 
piece  of  shortcake,  and  coolly  appropriated  the  two 
boiled  eggs  that  were  left  in  the  dish.  Joe's  appetite 
was  always  good,  even  for  a  growing  boy,  but  so  ex- 
tensive a  lunch  as  this  made  Miss  Loker  stop  short  in 
her  task  of  clearing  off  the  table  and  even  startled  my 
mother  into  saying, — 

"  What  on  earth  can  yon  need  of  so  much  luncheon, 
Joe?" 

Here  my  grandfather  roused  up:  u  Let  the  boy  have 
all  he  wants,  Belinda.  Nobody  shall  be  pinched  for 
victuals  in  my  house." 

And  Joe  left  the  table  in  triumph  with  his  spoils. 

I  could  not  help  believing  in  the  reasonableness  of 
the  general  theory;  at  the  same  time  a  thought  of  poor 
Gus  Peters,  whose  blood — unavenged  save  by  that  name- 
less Nemesis  which  has  tracked  the  footsteps  of  every 


SAM   TOLLER  MISSING.  11? 

murderer  since  Cain — the  earth  had  drank  in  as  quietly 
as  the  summer  showers  and  made  110  sign,  sent  through 
me  an  involuntary  shiver.  But  I  kept  it  to  myself, 
there  being  not  the  smallest  basis  for  any  absurd  fear 
of  a  similar  fate  for  Sam,  as  the  few  random  threats 
uttered  in  the  lodge  meeting  had  been  speedily  silenced 
by  the  calmer  counsels,  which  finally  prevailed.  I 
followed  my  grandfather  into  his  own  private  room — 
four- windowed,  freshly-sanded,  with  a  great  solemn- 
looking  secretary  in  one  corner  and  a  massive  silver 
watch  ticking  away  on  the  mantle  just  as  it  had  ticked 
in  my  childish  ears,  with  its  accents  of  awe  and  mystery, 
like  a  voice  out  o£  the  unknown  and  the  infinite,  a 
prophecy  without  words,  dimly  revealing  the  heart's 
own  secret  of  joy  or  sorrow,  solemn  or  glad,  as  it 
measured  off  the  pulse-beats  of  a  passing  life,  or  ticked 
away  the  happy  moments  before  the  bridal.  0,  my 
grandfather's  old  watch !  Though  it  long  since  went 
the  way  of  all  mortal  things,  heaven  keep  its  memory. 
'•  The  fact  is,"  said  I,  for  I  had  followed  him  into 
this,  his  own  sacred  and  peculiar  sanctum,  for  no  es- 
pecial reason  except  to  tell  him  what  c<fuld  not  well  be 
revealed  to  the  un-Masonic  ears  of  my  mother  and  Miss 
Loker;  u  Sam's  foolish  tongue  has  got  him  into  trouble. 
He's  never  been  a  Mason,  he  confessed  that;  but  some- 
how he's  got  hold  of  a  good  many  of  the  secrets  and 
li:is  been  pretty  free  with  them.  Joe  has  been  hinting 
about  it  all  along,  but  I  never  paid  much  attention  tc 
him  till  the  other  night,  when  I  was  summoned  before 
the  lodge  to  tell  what  I  knew  of  the  matter,  which  was 
precious  little.  But  I  talked  to  Sam  and  told  him  if  he 
would  only  take  the  first  degree  and  be  prudent  in 
future  it  would  stop  the  fuss.  He  seemed  quite  willing 


118  HOLDER  WITH  CORDS. 

to  do  so  I  thought.  He  can't  have  cleared  out  to  get 
rid  of  joining?  That  ivould  be  a  joke.1' 

u  But  it  may  be  so,  after  all,"  said  my  grandfather. 
u  You  see  an  idle,  shiftless,  good-for-nothing  fellow  like 
Sam  can't  appreciate  the  advantages  of  Masonry.  Its 
rules  and  regulations  seem  perfect  slavery  to  him.  He 
don't  want  to  be  industrious,  and  diligent,  and  self- 
denying,  and  all  these  other  things  that  Masonry 
teaches.  And  it's  just  so  in  religion.  People  don't 
want  to  join  the  church  because  they  know  if  they  do 
they'll  have  to  give  up  a  good  deal  they  don't  want  to 
give  up,  and  practice  a  good  many  disagreeable  duties 
they'd  rather  let  slide.  And  in  my  view  nobody  is  any 
better  for  being  forced  into  a  good  institution.  And  I 
don't  hold  either  to  filling  up  the  lodge  with  members 
of  all  sorts  by  cajoling  and  persuading  them  in.  It's 
bad  policy.  Time  and  again  that  plan  has  been  tried 
in  the  church  and  always  with  the  same  result — weak- 
ness and  corruption.  And  the  lodge  ranks  next  to  the 
church  in  sacredness  and  importance.  If  a  man  joins 
either  he's  got  to  rise  to  the  level  of  its  claims  upon 
him  or  sink  belsw  it,  and  if  he  does  the  last  it's  worse 
for  him  and  worse  for  the  institution." 

And  my  grandfather,  sublimely  unconscious  of  any 
inconsistency  between  his  views,  as  stated  above,  and 
the  persistent  "cajoling  and  persuading"  by  which 
Mark  Stedman  and  I  had  been  drawn  into  the  lodge, 
proceeded  to  hunt  for  his  spectacles  and  found  them  on 
the  top  of  his  head. 

"  Well,  well,"  he  said,  with  a  placid  laugh  at  his  own 
absent-mindedness,  "I'm  growing  old  and  forgetful. 
It's  a  good  thing  for  your  mother  and  me,  Leander, 
that  we've  got  you  and  Rachel  settled  down  close  be- 


SAM   TOLLER  MISSING.  119 

side  us  to  keep  things  straight.  I  don't  know  what 
either  of  us  would  do  without  you." 

For  though  my  mother  had  at  first  wanted  Rachel 
and  I  to  set  up  housekeeping  in  one  end  of  my  grand- 
father's house,  which  was  a  large  and  capacious  one  for 
those  days,  thus  thinking  to  keep  us  as  near  her  as 
possible,  my  grandfather  himself  had  refused  his  con- 
sent to  any  such  arrangement. 

"  But  it  will  seem  so  lonesome,"  faltered  my  mother. 

"  We've  got  Joe  yet.  He'll  keep  us  from  stagnating," 
answered  my  grandfather,  with  a  twinkle  of  his  eye. 
"  Young  folks  ought  to  have  a  home  of  their  own,  if 
its  only  one  room  with  a  cup  and  plate  between'them, 
and  the  sooner  they  begin  the  better." 

Accordingly  Rachel  and  1  did  have  u  a  home  of  our 
own,"  only  divided  from  my  grandfather's  by  a  narrow 
lane;  one  of  the  cosiest,  quietest  nooks  of  peace,  with 
trees  and  grass,  and  a  bubbling  brook  not  far  off,  to 
make  it  beautiful  when  the  long  summer  days  should 
come,  bright  with  unknown  hopes  }ret  to  be,  crowning 
with  glory  and  fragrance  the  end  of  our  first  year  of 
wedded  life. 

"  Leander,"  called  out  my  mother  from  the  kitchen 
door  just  as  1  was  going  off.  "  Do  see  if  you  can't  find 
Joe.  These  hickory  sticks  are  too  long  for  the  oven." 

To  ferret  out  Joe  from  the  multiplicity  of  his  hiding 
places  was  a  serious  task.  But  a  bright  thought  struck 
me  as  my  eye  fell  on  Sport,  curled  up  on  the  door  mat. 
Remembering  his  innocent  treachery  on  a  former  oc- 
casion I  whistled  to  him  to  come  to  me. 

"  Sport,"  I  said,  "  where's  Joe?     Find  Joe." 

The  intelligent  little  animal  pricked  up  his  ears  and 
looked  questioningly  at  me,  but  on  repeated  reitera- 


120  HOLDER  WITH   CORDS. 

tions  of  the  command  seemed  to  comprehend,  and 
trotted  off  in  the  direction  of  the  barn.  But  in  vain  I 
called  Joe's  name,  while  Sport  smelled  round  in  circles, 
a  bewildered  expression  on  his  brown  face,  till  just  as 
I  was  about  to  give  up  the  search  he  planted  his  fore- 
feet on  the  bottom  round  of  the  ladder  leading  to  the 
hayloft,  and  throwing  his  head  back  began  to  bark  with 
all  his  might  at  a  certain  corner  way  up  in  the  sweet, 
fragrant  darkness. 

I  followed  the  clue,  inspired  by  a  sudden  recollection 
of  the  time  when  Joe,  wishing  to  enjoy  the  fascinating 
History  of  Henry,  Earl  of  Westmoreland,  undisturbed 
by  any  -distracting  calls  from  the  outside  world,  had 
made  unto  himself  a  species  of  cubby-house  in  this 
identical  corner,  protecting  it  from  prying  eyes  by 
walls  of  hay  on  three  sides,  while  a  knothole  above 
gave  light,  and  a  store  of  nuts  and  apples  providently 
laid  in,  satisfied  the  cravings  of  his  youthful  stomach; 
for  with  Joe,  as  with  most  boys  of  fifteen,  mind  and 
matter  stood  in  very  intimate  relations. 

Sure  enough,  a  few  investigating  pokes  in  the  hay 
revealed  not  only  Joe.  which  did  not  surprise  me  in  the 
least,  but  Sam  Toller  also;  which  latter  discovery,  it 
is  needless  to  say,  did  surprise  me  exceedingly.  Sam 
had  his  mouth  full  of  doughnuts  and  cheese  and  could 
not  conveniently  reply  at  once  to  my  ejaculation  of 
astonishment,  but  Joe  was  equal  to  the  occasion  and 
preserved  an  unabashed  front. 

"  I  haint  done  anything  I  am  ashamed  of  yet,'1  he 
said,  sturdily,  u  or  hadn't  just  as  leaves  grandfather 
would  know  as  not.  Sam  come  to  me  yesterday  and 
said  he'd  got  into  trouble  with  the  Masons  and  had  got 
to  leave  Brownsville,  but  he  didn't  know  where  to  go, 


A   DECLARATION"  OF  INDEPENDENCE.  121 

and  I  told  him  I'd  fix  him  a  place  in  the  barn  where  he 
could  stay  till  he  decided  what  to  do.  That's  the  long 
and  short  of  it,  and  if  you  want  to  be  so  mean  as  to 
tell  of  us,  you  can." 

<k  Well,  Joe,1'  said  I,  as  severely  as  I  could  consider- 
ing my  inclination  to  laugh,  "  mother  sent  me  to  find 
you  and  you'd  better  see  what  she  wants  done;  if  you 
don't,  somebody  else  may  be  along  that  will  let  more 
out  than  I  shall.  It  will  be  better  if  you  will  just  go 
peaceably  off  and  leave  Sam  and  me  to  ourselves  for 
a  while.' 

Joe  looked  at  first  as  if  he  was  half  inclined  to  stay 
at  all  hazards,  but  thought  it  best,  on  the  whole,  to  take 
the  hint;  and  thus  Sam  and  I  were  left  alone,  to  make 
the  best  we  could  of  the  rather  comical  situation. 

"  Ye  want  to  know  what  ITm  here  for;"  began  Sam, 
who  had  disposed  of  his  doughnuts  and  was  now  free 
to  talk.  "  I  ain't  no  fool,  Leander  Severns,  but  I  might 
ha'  kept  on  fooling  you  till  doomsday  if  I'd  been  a 
mind  to  risk  having  my  throat  cut  across  and  my 
tongue  torn  out  by  the  roots  and  my  body  drowned  in 
Niagary  river.  I  knowed  the  game  wan't  wuth  the 
candle,  so  1  jest  owned  up." 

"I  thought  you  had  too  much  sense,  Sam,  to  be 
frightened  by  such  bug-a-boo  stories." 

"  Ye  needn't  go  to  pulling  the  wool  over  my  eyes," 
answered  Sam  scornfully,  ''  telling  me  Masons  swear  to 
things  they  don't  mean.  I  know  too  much  for  ye.  I 
s'pose  ye'd  try  to  make  me  believe  next,  if  ye  could, 
that  ye  never  had  a  rope  round  yer  neck  and  a  blinder 
over  yer  eyes  and  made  to  march  round  the  lodge-room 
from  East  to  West  with  jest  yer  shirt  to  yer  back.  I 
s'pose  ye'll  tell  me  now  that  ye  was  never  knocked 


!22  HOLDER  WITH    CORDS. 

down  by  three  ruffians  and  tumbled  into  a  blanket  and 
raised  up  again  after  ye'd  laid  in  the  grave  fifteen  days. 
I  don't  suppose  such  wonderful  things  ever  happened 
to  you.  Oh,  no!" 

And  Sam  chuckled  to  himself  in  a  highly  provoking 
manner. 

This  was  certainly  pressing  me  hard,  and  with  Sam, 
as  with  Mr.  Hawaii,  there  seemed  to  be  no  method  of 
defense  open  but  the  very  safe,  if  not  remarkably 
original  one,  of  silence,  previously  spoken  of  as  the 
standing  resort  of  distressed  Masons  when  thus  driven 
to  the  wall. 

"But  about  jining,  as  ye  kindly  axed  me  to,7'  went  on 
Sam,  who  saw  his  advantage  and  had  no  conscience 
but  to  push  it,  u  I  can  see  through  a  ladder  with  any 
man.  They  think  if  they  get  me  once  safe  in  I  won't 
dare  let  nothing  out;  but  I  tell  ye  Sam  Toller  runs  his 
neck  into  no  such  noose — not  if  he  knows  it.  And 
another  thing  I'll  tell  ye  for  yer  information:  you  and 
the  rest  of  «the  Masons  have  let  out  inore'n  I  have  by  a 
long  chalk." 

A  certain  inspired  declaration  reads  thus:  u  Verily  T 
say  unto  you,  there  is  nothing  hid  which  shall  not  be 
revealed,  nor  kept  secret  but  that  it  should  come 
abroad."  And  of  nothing  on  earth  is  this  more  true 
than  of  Masonry,  which  not  infrequently,  by  the  very 
pains  it  takes  to  keep  its  mysteries  from  the  vulgar 
eye,  unwittingly  betrays  thorn.  The  fact  is,  a  system 
of  organized  secrecy  will  surely  find,  sooner  or  later, 
that  even  "  the  stars  in  their  courses  fight  against 
Sisera;"  that  the  whole  economy  of  the  universe  in 
general  is  in  some  mysterious  way  opposed  to  letting 
one  small  part  of  the  human  race  keep  undisturbed  the 


A  DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE.       123 

exclusive  possession  of  any  secret  whatsoever.  And 
Sam  was  shrewd  enough  to  see  that  the  effort  to  make 
him  join  the  lodge  was  in  itself  a  tacit  admission 
that  he  had  discovered  the  hidden  things  of  Masonry. 

u  But,  Sam,"  I  finally  said,  "  ministers  and  deacons, 
lawyers  and  judges,  and  even  the  Governor  of  our 
State  belong  to  the  lodge.  It  is  considered  an  honor 
and  advantage  to  be  a  Freemason  and  here  you  are 
running  away  to  get  rid  of  it."  . 

u  Wall,"  answered  Sam,  picking  his  teeth  contentedly 
wijbh  a  straw,  "  I've  noticed  that  it  is  with  the  Masons 
putty  much  as  it  is  with  the  rest  of  the  world,  ginerally 
speaking.  The  big  bugs  at  the  top  get  the  most  of  the 
fuss  and  attention  and  grand  funerals.  The  little  bugs 
have  to  stay  at  the  bottom  and  take  up  with  the  leav- 
ings. But  that  ain't  the  principal  pint  of  my  objections. 
My  father  was  one  of  them  that  fought  the  Red  Coats 
at  Concord.  I've  heerd  hiui  tell  many  a  time  how  they 
chased  the  Britishers  over  the  bridge  and  tired  at  'em 
behind  walls  and  trees.  I'm  a  free-born  American, 
free  to  think  and  speak  what  I'm  a  mind  to.  I  want 
no  Worshipful  Master,  nor  Grand  Commander,  nor 
Grand  anything  else  to  lord  it  over  me;  and  I  tell  ye, 
Leander  Severns,  I  won't  swear  away  niy  libertj7"  in  any 
lodge  under  the  canopy." 

And  as  Sam  thus  declared  his  independence  there 
was  a  real  dignity  about  the  loose,  shambling  fellow, 
that  inspired  me  with  sudden  respect.  The  man  in 
Sum  Toller  had  suddenly  risen  and  confronted  me  and 
I  stood  abashed  before  him.  What  right  had  I  to  seek 
to  fasten  on  another  the  fetters  that  I  myself  would 
have  gladly  cast  off  if  1  could?  And,  furthermore,  it 
was  very  plain  to  see  that  tho  figurative  and  esoteric 


124  HOLDEK  WITH  CORDS. 

view  entertained  by  my  grandfather  regarding  the  pe- 
culiar meaning  of  the  lodge  penalties  was  not  shared 
by  him.  He  believed  that  there  was  an  actual  punish- 
ment for  the  Mason  who  should  violate  his  oath  of 
secrecy,  and  that  punishment  was — death. 

"  Well,  Sam,"  I  said,finally, li  I'll  tell  you  what  you'd 
better  do.  Make  a  clean  breast  of  the  whole  thing  to 
my  grandfather.  He'll  find  a  way  oat  if  anybody  can. 

And  accordingly,  after  Sam  had  deliberated  over  the 
plan  for  a  while  and  concluded  that  "  he'd  kinder  like 
to  bid  good-bye  to  the  Captain,  who  was  about  the  fair- 
est man  he  ever  worked  for,1'  I  had  the  pleasure  of 
ushering  that  worthy  into  the  presence  of  my  aston- 
ished grandfather,  whose  portly  person  fairly  shook 
with  laughter  when  he  comprehended  the  situation. 

"  Sam,  you  foolish  fellow!'1  he  said,  as  soon  as  he  re- 
covered his  gravity  sufficiently  to  have  the  power  of 
speech.  uThis  is  a  free  country.  Nobody  shall  make 
a  Mason  of  you  if  you  don't  want  to  be  one.  Still  I 
think  it  might  be  well  if  you  left  Brownsville  a  while. 
The  affair  will  all  be  forgotten  in  six  months.  And 
then  you  can  come  back  if  you  don't  find  some  better 
place.  Where  would  you  like  to  go?4' 

"  Wall,  IVe  thought  over  a  number  of  places,  but 
couldn't  jest  make  up  my  mind,'1  answered  Sam,  re- 
flectively. "  I  did  stay  at  Pemaquoddy  one  summer- 
hired  out  to  Jake  Brown — the  meanest  man.  You 
could  have  put  his  soul  into  a  bean  pod  and  had  room 
for  twenty  more  just  like  his.  And  I  lived  with  Mr. 
Greene  a  while  that  kept  the  brick  tavern  in  Pembroke. 
I  liked  that  well  enough  for  a  spell,  but  it's  an  uneasy 
sort  of  a  life  and  I  got  tired  of  it.  Folks  coming  and 
going  kinder  keeps  you  on  the  jump  all  the  time;  don't 


A   DECLARATION    OF  INDEPENDENCE.  125 

give  you  any  leisure  at  all  for  serious  reflections.  So  I 
pulled  up  stakes  and  went  away  from  there.  Then  I 
stayed  to  Squire  Slack's  a  couple  o'  months.  Beats  me 
how  he  ever  come  by  his  name,  for  he  was  jest  as  tight 
as  the  bark  to  a  tree.  And  then  there's  old  Uncle 
Zebedee;  lives  at  a  place  they  call  the  Bend.  I've  been 
a  calkerlatin'  to  go  and  see  the  old  gentleman  but  I 
never  could  get  a  chance  to  somehow.  But  now  my 
havin'  to  leave  Brownsville  seems  to  be  kinder  in  the 
nater  of  a  Providential  opening,  as  ye  may  say."1 

And  Sam,  who  was  much  addicted  to  tracing  the 
ways  of  Providence  as  manifested  in  the  peculiar  phases 
and  aspect  of  his  own  career,  sighed  profoundly, — a 
fashion  not  uncommon  with  good  people  in  all  ranks 
of  life  when  making  similar  reflections. 

"  Uncle  Zebedee,"  to  whom  his  heart  had  taken  such 
a  sudden  yearning,  won  the  day;  but  there  was  an 
affecting  parting  between  him  and  Joe  before  he  turned 
his  back  on  Brownsville,  to  which,  it  is  needless  to  say, 
I  was  not  an  eye-witness. 

A  little  while  after  Sam  had  made  an  unobserved 
exit  by  a  side  entrance  attired  in  some  of  my  grand- 
father's cast-off  clothes  and  his  worldly  all  done  up  in 
a  bundle  on  his  arm,  my  mother  came  in  with  the  re- 
mark "  that  Miss  Loker  had  seen  somebody  that  looked 
just  like  Sam  Toller  close  by  the  big  hickory,  only  he 
didn't  seem  to  be  dressed  exactly  like  him. 

"  It  would  be  very  easy  for  Miss  Loker  to  be  mistaken 
at  such  a  distance,  Belinda."  And  my  honest  grand- 
father, unused  to  ways  of  deception,  coughed  and 
hemmed  and  rubbed  his  glasses  iu  a  manner  that  would 
certainly  have  roused  suspicion  in  any  less  innocent 
and  unsuspecting  soul  than  my  mother. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

THE  SPRING  OF  1826. — SAM  TOLLER. — "  COMING 

CAST   THELR  SHADOWS  BEFORE." — "  THE  DEEDS  OF 

YOUR   FATHER   YE    WILL  DO." — "  HE   WAS  A 

LIAR    FROM    THE    BEGINNING." 

i  HE  story  writer  is  in  one  sense  a  seer. 
Projecting  its  dark  shadow  across  his 
sunniest  pages  he  sees  the  swift-coming 
tragedy  of  which  his  readers  know  noth- 
ing, and  at  no  point  in  this  history  has 
there  been,  a  time  when  the  remark  did  not 
hold  true.  I  have  never  lost  sight  of  it 
simply  because  I  could  not — that  terrible  event 
which  was  hastening  on  to  make  a  leaf  in  our 
national  records  that  should  be  an  unread  blank  for 
half  a  century,  and  then,  like  a  writing  in  secret  ink, 
flash  suddenly  out  to  be  (God  grant  it)  the  death  war- 
rant of  the  vile  institution  which,  thinking  its  crime 
buried  forever,  has  dared  to  step  boldly  back  into  its 
old  place  of  power  and  challenge  for  itself  an  authority 
above  all  human  or  even  divine  law. 

Yet  the  spring  of  1826  has  little  to  mark  it  in  my 
memory.  An  era  of  national  prosperity  had  begun 
with  the  eight  years'  Presidency  of  Monroe  that  bid 
fair  to  continue  under  his  successor,  John  Quincy 
Adams.  Florida  had  been  added  to  the  Union,  the 


THE   SPRING   OF   1826.  127 

national  debt  largely  liquidated,  and  the  Erie  canal 
built;  and  the  social  wheels  of  Brownsville  moved 
smoothly  on  in  those  good  old  ruts  of  social  custom  so 
extremely  hard  to  get  out  of,  as  most  people  will  testify 
who  have  made  the  effort. 

The  reasons  for  Sam's  sudden  exodus  had  somehow 
leaked  out  in  the  village — I  am  inclined  to  think  Joe 
was  the  bird  of  the  air  that  told  the  matter— and  caused 
many  a  sly  laugh  at  the  expense  of  the  lodge.  Now  it 
is  characteristic  of  evil  generally  that  it  can  not  bear 
to  be  laughed  at.  A  good  man  or  a  good  cause  is  cased 
in  armor  that  no  shafts  of  ridicule  can  penetrate;  but 
not  so  with  a  system  built  on  iniquity,  or  a  man  whose 
success  in  life  is  founded  on  wrong.  When  Napoleon, 
with  a  million  of  trained  soldiery  at  his  back,  feared 
Madame  De  Stael  so  much  as  to  banish  her  from 
France,  it  was  simply  because  her  keen  wit  made  him 
ridiculous  in  the  eyes  of  the  French  people,  and  no- 
body knew  better  than  he  that  it  was  a  dangerous 
thing  for  Napoleon  to  be  made  ridiculous.  So  the 
papacy,  in  Luther's  day,  withered  under  the  biting 
satire  of  Reynard  Reineke,  for  it  understood  perfectly 
well  that,  the  popular  laugh  once  turned  against  it,  all 
was  over  with  its  claims  to  infallible  authority.  And 
in  like  manner  Masonry  fears  nothing  so  much  as  to 
have  the  ridiculous  side  of  her  pretensions  shown  up. 

When  the  lodge  in  Brownsville  realized  that  it  had 
been  mocked  and  trifled  with  by  "  a  fellow  like  Sam 
Toller,"  I  am  obliged  to  confess  that  the  wrath  of  the 
brotherhood  found  vent  in  many  expressions  not  at  all 
compatible  with  their  avowed  principles  of  universal 
benevolence.  For  it  was  plain  enough  to  see  that 
Sam's  whole  course  of  conduct  had  been,  from  be- 


128  HOLDER   WITH  CORDS. 

ginning  to  end,  a  cunningly  devised  plan  to  throw 
ridicule"  on  the  sublime  and  glorious  institution  of 
Masonry  and  then  escape  disagreeable  consequences  for 
himself  by  running  away  at  the  last  moment. 

"The  scalawag  has  done  more  to  hurt  us  here  in 
Brownsville  than  a  little;"  remarked  the  same  brother 
Mason  who  had  called  Mark  a  "  spooney."  "  He  never 
ought  to  have  been  allowed  to  go  on  so." 

"  I  thought  a  man's  tongue  was  bis  own,"  I  answered, 
rather  curtly,  "  How  would  you  stop  him  ?" 

u  There  are  ways,"  was  the  significant  answer. 

"  What  do  you  mean  by  that?"  I  asked,  turning  on 
the  speaker  rather  more  sharply,  perhaps,  for  the  rea- 
son that  1  did  not  like  him  very  well;  but  as  he  is  to 
figure  hereafter  in  one  or  two  important  scenes  it  is 
best  he  should  be  introduced  to  the  reader.  His  name 
was  Mr.  Darius  Fox,  and  he  held  the  responsible  po- 
sition of  village  sheriff,  but  as  breaches  of  the  peace 
were  not  very  common  in  Brownsville  he  was  obliged 
to  vary  this  employment  by  carrying  on  a  distillery, 
which  in  those  pre-reform  times  reflected  no  discredit 
on  anybody's  personal  character,  especially  as  Mr.  Fox 
inherited  the  business  from  his  father,  who  was  a 
former  deacon  of  the  church. 

That  gentleman  gave  me  no  explanation  but  to  shrug 
his  shoulders;  perhaps  in  contempt  for  my  greenness; 
at  least  I  so  interpreted  the  action. 

"  Sam  Toller  never  did  all  this  out  of  his  own  head. 
Somebody  set  him  on,  and  the  question  is,  Who?  It's 
my  opinion  we  shall  have  to  look  pretty  near  home  to 
find  out." 

I  was  in  a  hurry  and  did  not  pay  very  much  atten- 
tion to  these  remarks  of  Mr.  Fox's,  for  they  did  not 


THE  SPRING  OF   1826.  129 

then  strike  me  as  having  any  special  significance,  ex- 
cept as  a  view  of  the  case  hitherto  unthought  of,  but 
possibly  the  true  one. 

The  coach  for  which  I  was  waiting  came  lumbering 
along  and  with  a  hasty  "  Good  morning"  1  sprang  in. 

Among  my  fellow  passengers  was  a  man  apparently 
about  fifty,  who  attracted  my  attention,  not  onl};  by  a 
remarkably  noble  cast  of  the  head  and  face,  but  by  the 
curious  contrast  between  his  upright,  military  bearing, 
and  a  certain  un definable  something  in  air  and  manner 
that  usually  marks  the  learned  or  literary  professions. 

He  took  a  corner  seat  and  sat  for  most  of  the  way 
seemingly  absorbed  in  silent  reverie  till  the  stage 
stopped  to  change  horses,  and  his  next  neighbor,  a 
chatty  little  man, evidently  one  of  the  class  with  whom 
a  prime  condition  of  happiness  is  to  have  somebody  to 
talk  to,  began  a  conversation  something  in  this  wise: — 

u  That  Erie  canal  is  going  to  do  wonders  for  the  bus- 
iness interests  of  the  State,  I  take  it,  but  it's  something 
I  never  thought  to  see  done  in  my  day.  Why,  Governor 
Clinton,  they  say,  went  to  Jefferson  when  he  was  Pres- 
ident and  tried  to  talk  him  over  to  it,  and  says  Jefferson, 
says  he, — '  Your  idea  is  a  grand  one,  and  the  thing  may 
be  put  through  a  hundred  years  hence.'  Shows  our 
wise  men  don't,  know  everything  now." 

And  the  speaker  laughed  pleasantly,  as  people  are 
apt  to  do  when  Wisdom,  under  official  robes,  is  caught 
tripping. 

"  Well,"  said  the  other,  rousing  himself  up,  u  we  live 
in  an  age  of  progress  and  improvement,  and  when  a 
few  years  can  work  such  wonderful  changes  it  isn't 
very  safe  predicting  what  science  may  or  may  not  do 
ifor  us  in  the  future." 


130  HOLDER   WITH  COEDS. 

"  It  seems  to  me  that  the  country  is  middlin'  pros- 
perous. I  take  it  that  the  nation  has  about  got  through 
its  biggest  trouble,  now  the  hard  times  are  over  that 
come  of  our  last  war." 

u  I  don't  agree  with  you  there,"  answered  the  other. 
"It  is  my  belief  that  our  Republic  has  not  even  begun  to 
see  the  worst  trouble  before  it.  Underlying  our  whole 
social  system  are  evils,  each  one  enough  in  itself,  if 
let  alone  and  given  time  and  space  to  grow,  to  sap  the 
life  of  our  Government.  There  are  dangers  to  our  po- 
litical integrity,  to  our  very  existence  as  a  nation, 
which,  if  not  perceived  and  avoided  before  it  is  too 
late,  will,  in  my  opinion,  work  our  national  ruin." 

"Oh,  well.''  returned  the  man  of  cheerful  views, 
who,  like  some  people  of  the  present  day,  was  not  in- 
clined to  worry  himself  over  ''evils  "  or  " dangers  "  not 
immediately  palpable  to  the  sight,  "  there's  always  the 
Red  Skins.  They  make  us  lots  of  trouble,  and  we  may 
have  another  brush  with  the  Britishers,  but  I  aint  much 
afraid  of  that.  I  guess  we've  had  about  enough  fighting 
to  last  both  sides  one  spell." 

"  I  hope  you  are  right,"  answered  the  man  of  half- 
clerical,  half-military  look,  "but  if  foes  from  without 
are  all  we  have  to  dread  our  country  has  been  born  to 
an  exceptional  destiny.  It  isn't  a  great  many  years 
since  Aaron  Burr  plotted  to  divide  the  Union.  Why 
did  his  plot  fail?  Just  because  he  was  not  a  leader. 
He  did  not  possess  the  confidence  of  any  portion  of  the 
people  and  his  murder  of  Hamilton  had  covered  him 
with  odium  and  suspicion." 

"  Just  so,"  assented  his  auditor.  "  Burr  did  not  have 
no  very  great  chance  to  do  mischief  after  he  had  shown 
himself  out  so  by  killing  Hamilton." 


131 

"  But  now,  given  different  circumstances,"  pursued 
the  other,  "  say  a  man  that  was  a  leader,  that  did  have 
the  confidence  of  the  people,  and  could  hatch  his  con- 
spiracy under  the  cloak  of  a  secret  order  as  Burr  did, 
who  was  a  Royal  Arch  Mason,  and  my  word  for  it,  if 
ho  failed  it  would  be  because  the  hand  of  God  worked 
confusion  to  the  plot." 

"  Maybe  you  are  right  about  it,"  said  the  man  who 
had  begun  the  conversation,  u  but  then  1  don't  believe 
that  will  ever  happen.  Our  Union  is  getting  too 
strong  for  traitors  to  try  to  overturn  it." 

"  I  know  this  much,"  said  the  other,  speaking  with 
the  slow  impressiveness  of  one  whose  words  are  weight- 
ed with  a  good  deal  of  previous  thinking  on  the  sub- 
ject, "  I  was  born  at  the  South  and  I  see  elements  there 
that  are  even  now  tending  to  disunion.  Should  such 
a  plot  arise  it  will,  in  my  view,  be  most  likely  to 
originate  in  that  part  of  the  country  where  there  is  the 
best  chance  to  keep  such  a  movement  secret." 

"  You  don't  say  so,"  said  the  chatty  man,  startled 
into  silence  for  about  half  a  minute,  during  which 
time,  the  work  of  changing  horses  having  been  com- 
pleted, the  stage  began  to  move  on,  and  several  more 
passengers  entering  it,  the  conversation  stopped,  but  I 
could  not  help  gazing  with  a  strange  interest  at  that 
grave,  noble-looking  man  in  the  corner,  and  thinking 
over  what  he  had  said  about  Burr's  connection  with 
Masonry.  How  could  an  institution  be  beneficial 
morally,  socially  or  politically,  that  could  be  made  a 
cover  for  secret  crimes  and  subservient  to  all  the  vile 
ends  of  criminals  and  conspirators?  Yet  my  grand- 
father thought  it  could,  so  did  Governor  Clinton,  so  did 
others  whom  church  and  state  delighted  to  honor  And 


132  HOLDEN  WITH  CORDS. 

should  I,  in  my  inexperienced  young  manhood,  pre- 
sume to  be  wiser  than  they  ?  And,  besides,  how  could 
I  be  certain  that  he  meant  any  condemnation  of  Ma- 
sonry by  his  allusion  to  Burr's  treason  as  being  planned 
under  its  protecting  wing,  for  how  many  crimes  have 
been  perpetrated  under  the  mask  of  piety  and  in  the 
holy  names  of  religion  and  liberty  ? 

At  our  next  stopping  place  the  stranger  got  out,  and 
a  Brownsville  acquaintance  who  happened  to  be  in 
the  coach,  came  forward  and  took  his  vacant  seat. 

u  That  was  Captain  William  Morgan,  of  Batavia," 
he  remarked,  casually.  "  I  know  him  by  sight.  Fine 
looking  man,  isn't  he?" 

But  the  name  stirred  no  rush  of  memories,  thick  and 
fast  though  they  crowd  upon  me  as  I  write  it  now.  1 
was  glad  to  have  seen  one  whom  my  grandfather  knew 
and  esteemed,  and  felt  instinctively  that  the  character 
given  him  as  a  boy  by  his  old  friend,  Benjamin  Hagan, 
must  be  true  of  the  man,  but  I  never  recognized  in  him 
the  coming  deliverer,  through  whose  witness,  sealed 
with  his  life,  thousands  of  souls,  and  mine  among 
them,  were  to  owe  their  freedom  from  galling,  bitter 
bondage,  to  a  power  which  had  made  them  first  its 
dupes  and  then  its  slaves. 

"  I  thought  Captain  Morgan  was  quite  a  distinguished 
Mason,"  said  my  companion,  who  happened  never  to 
have  had  the  "  cable-tow  "  -about  his  neck,  lowering 
his  voice  and  speaking  confidentially,  "  but  some  of  his 
talk  sounded  to  me  as  though  he  didn't  think  very  much 
of  it  after  all.  You  see  I've  had  an  invitation  to  join 
the  lodge  myself  lately  and  I'm  keeping  my  ears  open 
to  get  all  the  information  I  can  about  it  first.  If  I  was 
certain  the  things  Sam  Toller  let  out  were  true,  wild 


133 

horses  shouldn't  get  me  in  there,  and  [  told  Baxter 
Stebbins  so  when  he  asked  me  to  join,  but  he  says  Sam 
knew  nothing  about  Masonry  really. 

I  had  not  yet  reached  the  point  where  I  could  listen 
unstartled  to  such  a  revelation  of  lodge  duplicity,  es- 
pecially as  Baxter  Stebbins  was  the  very  one  with 
whose  Ahithophel  counsel  in  the  matter  of  Sam  Toller 
the  reader  is  already  conversant,  and  was  silent  from 
sheer  astonishment. 

"I  shouldn't  have  thought  so  much  of  what  he 
said,"  continued  my  companion,  whose  name  was  Luke 
Thatcher,  a  young  farmer  of  Brownsville,  a  plain,  hon- 
est, steady  fellow,  of  more  than  common  intelligence 
and  good  sense,  "only  Deacon  Brown  was  standing 
close  by  and  spoke  in- nearly  the  same  wa}r  about  it. 
'Sam  has  contrived  to  get  a  little  inkling  into  Mason- 
ry,' says  he,  l  but  that  is  all.  He  knows  nothing  of  the 
real  secrets.' '' 

Now  what  is  a  young  man  of  average  conscientious- 
ness to  do  when  brought  into  a  strait  where  he  must 
either  himself  consent  to  a  lie  or  tacitly  charge  on  an- 
other, old  enough  to  be  his  father,  one  of  the  most  re- 
spected men  in  the  community  and  an  officer  of  the 
church  beside,  this  most  disagreeable  accusation? 

I  did  as  the  average  young  man  probably  would  have 
done  in  like  circumstances.  I  took  the  easiest  course, 
helped  by  some  shadowy  recollection  of  the  Fifth  Com- 
mandment as  including  that  honor  and  respect  for 
elders  which  seemed  hardly  compatible  with  the  other 
mode  of  meeting  the  case.  And  Luke  Thatcher  a  few 
weeks  after  joined  the  lodge. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

AN   ADHERING  FREEMASON  INCAPABLE   OF    ENTIRE  LOY- 
ALTY TO   HIS  WIFE. — A  LODGE  QUARREL. — 
JACHIN  AND  BOAZ. 

N  consequence  of  the  fact  that  my  pres- 
ence had  been  several  times  required  as 
a  witness   to   testify  in  regard   to  the 
affair  about  Sam  Toller,  and  partly  be- 
cause I  saw  the  necessity  of  keeping  up 
some  show  of  outward  interest  if  I  wanted 
to  retain  my  standing  in  the  lodge,  I  was 
now  a  regular  attendant  on  its  meetings. 

Rachel  uttered  no  second  remonstrance,  not 
even  when  the  book  we  were  planning  to  read  together 
had  to  be  laid  aside,  and  the  subject  on  which  we  had 
promised  ourselves  a  quiet  chat  must  be  deferred,  while 
she  was  left  to  an  evening  of  loneliness,  uncheered  even 
by  the  expectation  that  I  would  tell  her  what  I  had 
seen  and  heard  when  I  came  home.  Between  us  had 
fallen  the  lodge  shadow;  it  sat  like  a  ghost  at  our 
hearthstone;  it  laid  cold  hands  of  separation  on  two 
hearts  that  honestly  loved  each  other,  and  the  current 
of  our  two  lives,  which  should  have  glided  on  to  the 
Eternal  Sea  in  an  indivisible  unity  of  thought  and 
sympathy  and  affection,  were  separating  farther  and 
farther  from  each  other  into  their  own  individual 


A  LODGE  QUARREL.  135 

channels  of  separate  feeling  and  purpose.  Not  that 
we  were  either  of  us  even  dimly  aware  of  this  state  of 
things.  The  bare  thought  would  have  shocked  us,  yet 
is  was  true  nevertheless.  Rachel's  nature,  slightly 
imperious,  yet  rich  and  sweet  and  womanly  to  the  core, 
was  capable  of  a  boundless  self-surrender,  a  royal  giving 
up  of  her  entire  being  to  make  the  joy  and  blessing  of 
another's  life;  but  there  is  a  divine  law  of  equity  in  all 
true  love,  which,  if  transgressed,  brings  its  own  retribu- 
tion. She  had  not  received  what  she  gave  and  she 
knew  it,  but  as  I  said  before,  Rachel  had  a  proud,  steady 
poise  of  will  that  caused  her  to  maintain  a  general 
silence  on  the  subject,  only  flashing  out  at  rare  intervals 
in  a  manner  decidedly  uncomfortable.  For  the  reader 
has  probably  observed  that  among  people  addicted  to 
"  saying  what  they  think,"  there  are  two  classes,  one 
in  a  state  of  continual  eruption,  like  Stromboli — nobody 
minds  th^m — while  with  the  other  this  operation  is 
more  like  an  eruption  of  Mt.  Vesuvius — a  thing  to  be 
remembered  with  fear  and  awe,  and  kept  out  of  the 
way  of  as  much  as  possible. 

As  the  heading  of  this  chapter  may  excite  wonder  in 
some  innocent  minds,  whose  idea  of  the  lodge  is  a  place 
where  the  utmost  concord  and  brotherly  love  must 
necessarily  prevail  as  a  matter  of  course,  let  me  hasten 
to  remove  an  impression  so  entirely  erroneous.  It  is  a 
lamentable  fact,  but  no  less  true,  that  there  exists  a 
tendency  in  our  fallen  humanity  to  quarrel.  Editors 
quarrel,  Congressmen  quarrel;  there  are  quarrels  in 
high  places  and  in  low  places;  quarrels  in  the  church, 
the  parish  and  the  family;  and  why, in  the  name  of  all 
that  is  reasonable,  should  the  lodge  be  exempt? 

Be  this  as  it  may,  serious  difficulty  arose  one  evening 


136  BOLDEST  "WITH   CORDS. 

between  Darius  Fox  and  myself,  caused  by  some  remark 
of  the  former  about  u  Achans  in  the  camp,"  which  I 
chose  to  regard  as  especially  aimed  at  me.  Now  u  the 
beginning  of  strife,"  according  to  Solomon,  who, 
whether  he  ever  ruled  over  a  lodge  at  Jerusalem,  as 
stated  by  Masonic  tradition,  or  not,  was  certainly  in 
his  day  a  shrewd  observer  of  men  and  things,  "  is  as 
when  one  letteth  out  water;"  and  through  the  tiny 
leak  of  this  ill-considered  speech  rushed  a  whole  torrent 
of  angry  words. 

"  If  you  accuse  me  of  being  in  complicity  with  Sam 
Toller  you've  got  to  prove  it,  that's  all,"  I  answered, 
defiantly.  u  It  stands  you  in  hand  to  be  a  little  careful 
what  you  say,  however." 

"  If  the  coat  fits  you  can  put  it  on,"  retorted  Darius. 
u  I  won't  charge  you  with  anything.  I  only  said  that 
somebody,  right  here  in  this  lodge,  too,  put  Sam  up  to 
it,  and  I  say  so  again.  There  is  no  use  trying  to  shuffle 
off  the  truth.  We've  got  a  traitor  among  us.» 

Elder  Gushing  was  present  when  this  altercation  took 
place  and  felt  called  upon  by  virtue  of  his  ministerial 
office  to  say  something  which  should  calm  our  rising 
passions. 

"Come,  come;  this  won't  do.  This  isn't  brotherly 
love.  Mutual  accusation  and  recrimination  are  the 
last  things  in  which  good  Masons  should  indulge,  fhe 
true  spirit  of  Masonry  does  not  allow  us  to  suspect  evil 
of  a  brother  and  requires  us  to  throw  a  mantle  of  the 
broadest  charity  even  over  his  failings." 

Respect  for  our  minister  checked  the  dispute  for  the 
time  being,  but  fire  was  smouldering  under  the  ashes. 
It  should  be  remarked  in  excuse  of  Mr.  Darius  Pox, 
wlio  was  certainly  in  a  most  unpleasant  temper,  chat 


A  LODGE  QUARREL.  137 

he  had  just  been  accosted  on  his  way  to  the  lodge  by  a 
small  boy,  rejoicing  in  bare  legs  and  a  rimless  hat,  who 
drawled  out  with  a  provoking  grimace,  at  the  same 
time  raising  both  arms  to  his  head  and  then  letting 
them  drop  to  his  side,  "  0  Lord,  my  God!  Is  there  no 
help  for  the  widow's  son?"  'Now  that  one  of  the  sub- 
limest  and  certainly  one  of  the  most  profitable  secrets 
of  Masonry,  the  grand  hailing  sign  of  distress,  had  be- 
come the  jest  and  by-word  of  profane  village  gamins, 
what  zealous  Mason  can  wonder  if  poor  Mr.  Fox  felt 
very  much  like  an  ancient  Jew  when  he  saw  the  temple 
defiled  and  its  glories  laid  waste  by  the  hordes  of  heathen 
Babylonians? 

It  may  also  be  observed  that,  with  the  desire  so 
characteristic  of  human  nature  whenever  an  accident 
happens  to  lay  the  blame  somewhere,  a  spirit  of  mutual 
chiding  had  taken  possession  of  the  lodge.  Everybody 
was  sure  that  somebody  else  must  have  been  repre- 
hensibly  careless,  or  how  could  Sam  have  possibly  ob- 
tained the  secrets?  Which  serves  to  explain  in  some 
degree  the  reason  for  my  being  in  a  rather  irritable 
frame  of  mind  as  well  as  Mr.  Fox,  and  inclined  to  see 
occasion  for  offence  in  a  remark  that  I  might  have 
passed  over  in  silence  at  any  other  time. 

u  I've  heard  of  such  a  thing  as  stealing  the  lodge 
keys,11  suggested  a  member,  Mr.  Silas  Pratt  by  name, 
who  seldom  spoke,  but  when  he  did  had  generally  some- 
thing to  say.  ''  If  any  outsider  should  get  a  chance  at 
that  'ere  book  that's  kept  here — what's  its  name? — 
Jachin  and  Boaz,  they  might  find  out  the  secrets  fast 
enough." 

I  had  noticed  that  when  initiating  candidates  refer- 
ence was  frequently  made  to  a  certain  volume,  which  I 


1S&  HOLDEN  WITH  COUDS. 

supposed  contained  merely  the  charges  and  lectures, 
but  I  had  taken  no  nearer  view  of  it  than  as  I  had  seen 
it  in  the  hands  of  some  officer  of  the  lodge  on  the 
above-mentioned  occasions,  and  not  being  in  the  least  a 
"bright  Mason7'  myself,,  was  quite  ignorant  of  the 
fact  that  many  of  the  members  who  astonished  me  by 
their  glib  speech  and  ready  memories  were  assiduous 
students  of  its  pages. 

In  spite  of  the  assertion  so  frequently  heard  at  the 
present  day,  that  "  Masonry  cannot  be  revealed,"  it  is 
an  undeniable  fact  that  there  existed  in  many  lodges, 
as  well  as  in  the  secret  keeping  of  many  individual 
members  of  the  fraternity,  an  old  book  first  published 
in  England  in  1762,  called  Jachin  and  Boaz,  which 
at  the  time  it  was  published  was  a  complete  revelation 
and  exposure  of  the  first  three  degrees.  But  to  prevent 
the  downfall  of  the  entire  system  which  any  discern- 
ing mind  will  at  once  perceive  would  have  been  the  re- 
sult had  no  protective  measures  been  taken,  the  lodge 
reversed  the  grips  and  passwords  of  the  Entered  Ap- 
prentice and  Fellow  Craft  degrees.  Otherwise  the  book 
remained  for  all  practical  intents  and  purposes  a  com- 
plete guide  to  the  mighty  and  august  mysteries  of  Ma- 
sonry, and,  as  such,  proved  very  useful  to  the  craft, 
who  were  not  above  taking  advantage,  as  far  as  possible, 
even  of  so  untoward  a  circumstance  as  the  illicit  pub- 
lication of  their  boasted  secrets. 

But  what  of  the  author  of  Jachin  and  Boaz?  He 
was,  of  course,  a  Mason;  but  the  most  that  has  come 
down  to  us  regarding  him  across  the  shadowy  gulf  of 
the  last  century  concerns  the  manner  of  his  death. 
He  was  found  one -morning  in  the  streets  of  London,  a 
corpse,  his  throat  cut  from  ear  to  ear;  and  whatever 


JACHIK  AKD  BOAZ.  130 

his  motives  in  publishing  the  secrets  of  Masonry— 
whether  for  gain,  or  notoriety,  or  the  purest  and  holiest 
motives  that  ever  throbbed  in  a  patriotic  bosom — pub- 
lished they  were.  And  under  the  knife  of  his  Masonic 
murderers  in  great,  populous  London,  the  soul  of  a  man 
who  had  broken  no  law  of  his  country  took  its  flight 
to  Him  who  has  said,  u  Vengeance  is  mine."  But  how? 
Did  he  face  his  terrible  doom  like  a  martyr  and  a  hero, 
doubly  a  martyr  and  a  hero  that  he  had  not  the  incite- 
ment of  crowds  of  spectators  to  bear  up  the  sinking 
flesh;  that  if  he  yielded  up  his  life  nobly  for  truth  and 
right  the  world  would  never  know  it?  Questions  that 
cannot  be  answered  for  eternity  keeps  the  secret,  and 
to  those  dim,  silent  shores  whither  the  murderers  sent 
their  victim,  they  themselves  long  since  passed  away  to 
receive  their  just  reward,  while  the  system  which  made 
them  its  tools  proudly  boasted  of  its  benevolence  and 
charity,  and  with  the  blood  of  the  innocent  crimsoning 
her  skirts,  called  herself  the  handmaid  of  Christ's  pure 
and  holy  religion. 

It  must  not  be  supposed,  however,  that  all  this  was 
told  me  in  the  lodge.  By  no  manner  of  means.  I  was 
given  to  understand  that  Jachin  and  Boaz  was  a 
very  rare  book  (as  indeed  it  was,  the  fraternity  having 
been  pretty  successful  in  preventing  its  publication  in 
this  country),  and  that  its  author,  for  purposes  of  spec- 
ulation disappeared  from  the  public  view  and  had  it 
given  out  that  he  was  murdered  by  Masons  in  order  to 
give  his  book  a  more  rapid  sale — a  statement  honestly 
believed  by  many  members  of  the  lodge,  for  it  does  not 
follow  that  because  a  man  is  joined  to  a  system  which 
is,  in  itself,  a  gigantic  fraud  upon  humanity,  he  must  be 
himself  a  conscious  and  deliberate  liar.  Masonry,  like 


140  HOLDEK  WITH  COBDS. 

the  fabled  enchantress,  mixes  a  draught  for  her  victims, 
which  may  not  indeed  change  them  into  beasts,  but  has 
a  strange  power  of  so  darkening  the  moral  conscious- 
ness that  they  lose  that  most  God-like  attribute  of  the 
human  mind,  the  power  to  discern  between  truth  and 
falsehood.  Such  an  one,  maddened  by  the  cup  of  her 
sorceries,  will  call  evil  good  and  good  evil,  until,  in  the 
awful  words  of  the  Hebrew  prophet, "  He  cannot  deliv- 
er his  soul  nor  say,  Is  there  not  a  lie  in  my  right  hand?" 
Owing  to  Elder  Cushing's  interference  there  was  no 
further  interchange  of  sharp  words  between  Darius 
Fox  and  myself,  but  their  memory  rankled  unpleasant- 
ly, for  I  knew  the  lodge  regarded  me  as  in  a  certain 
sense  mixed  up  in  the  affair,  and  it  was  a  disagreeable 
question  how  far  he  voiced  the  opinions  of  the  rest. 
Mr.  Pratt's  suggestion  that  some  one  might  have  stolen 
the  keys  was  followed  by  various  other  attempts  to 
solve  the  mystery,  equally  sagacious;  but  no  light,  either 
from  the  East  or  any  other  quarter,  dawned  on  the 
vexed  subject.  Finally,  after  a  rather  heated  discus- 
sion, the  lodge  adjourned  from  "  labor "  to  "  refresh- 
ment,1' and  in  the  general  unstopping  of  bottles  and 
clinking  of  glasses  good  fellowship  was  in  some  measure 
restored.  u  Confusion  to  the  foes  of  Masonry,"  which 
was  the  toast  given  by  Elder  Gushing,  was  duly  ap- 
plauded and  drank;  others  followed  of  much  the  same 
tenor,  ending  off  by  a  general  drinking  to  the  health 
of  all  good  and  faithful  brother  Masons.  For  though 
the  lodge  in  Brownsville  was  no  more  convivially  in- 
clined than  most  others,  there  were  always  certain 
members  who,  in  drinking  all  these  various  healths, 
generally  contrived  to  so  seriously  damage  their  own  as 
to  need  assistance  home. 


A  LODGE  QUARREL.  141 

Could  it  be  that  Sam  had  in  some  way  got  posses- 
sion of  Jachin  and  Boaz?  Remembering  his  curious 
reversal  of  the  grips  and  passwords,  together  with  the 
fact  that  throughout  the  affair  there  seemed 'to  be  a 
good  mutual  understanding  between  him  and  Joe,  I 
resolved  to  make  one  more  effort  to  probe  the  secret  to 
the  bottom. 

Which  was  easier  said  than  done,  Masons  not  being 
the  only  people  in  the  world  who  know  how  to  keep 
secrets.  But  Joe  himself  opened  the  way  for  such  a 
conversation  by  innocently  inquiring  as  soon  as  he  saw 
me  next  morning — 

44  Say,  Leander,  what  was  the  row  in  the  lodge  last 
night?" 

I  had  never  before  considered  Joe  a  wizard,  but  I  cer- 
tainly stared  at  him  for  an  instant  as  if  some  such  idea 
was  in  my  head,  quite  forgetting  that  in  going  home 
from  the  lodge  Deacon  Brown  had  kept  me  company  as 
far  as  my  grandfather's;  I  suppose  for  the  purpose  of 
giving  me  a  little  paternal  advice,  and  the  wind  had 
been  just  right  to  waft  his  parting  words,  u  Keep  your 
temper,  keep  your  temper,  Leander;  there's  nothing  to 
be  gained  by  losing  that,  you  know,"  into  the  open 
window  of  the  chamber  where  Joe  slept,  who,  being 
blessed  with  a  pair  of  sharp  ears,  had  heard  it  and 
drawn  his  own  deductions. 

"For  pity's  sake,  Joe!1'  said  I,  fairly  thrown  off  my 
guard,  " how  did  you  know  anything  about  it?"  Joe 
grew  suddenly  thirsty  and  went  to  the  water-pail  for  a 
drink. 

4t  1  didn't  know  but  there  might  be  some  fuss  brewing 
about  what  Sam  let  out,"  he  answered,  turning  round 
with  a  preternaturally  grave  face,  though  1  had  my  own 


142  HOLDER  WITH   CORDS. 

reasons  for  suspecting  that  the  dipper  a  moment  before 
had  mirrored  one  vastly  different.  "  Sam  was  a  goose 
to  get  scared  and  clear  out  as  he  did.  The  Masons 
couldn't»do  anything  to  him  as  long  as  he'd  never  been 
one  himself,  and  I  told  him  so.  But  he  was  bound  not 
to  join  the  lodge  anyhow,  and  he  was  afraid  they  might 
work  it  so  as  to  get  him  in.  He  said  he'd  heard  of  such 
things;  and  then  if  they  shouldn't  believe  him  that 
he'd  never  been  a  Mason,  some  of  them  might  cut  his 
throat  for  telling  the  secrets.  I  told  him  it  was  per- 
fectly ridiculous  to  talk  of  any  such  awful  thing  as 
that  ever  being  done  in  Brownsville." 

And  Joe  whistled  a  stave  of  u  Hail  Columbia." 

.uJoe,"  said  I,  thinking  it  about  time  to  push  the 
question,  "when  you  and  Sam  were  so  much  together 
I  know  that  he  must  have  told  you  who  put  him  in 
possession  of  the  secrets." 

"  What  if  he  did,"  said  the  undisturbed  Joe.  "  Sup- 
posing I  promised  him  that  I  would  not  tell.  You 
don't  want  me  to  break  my  promise,  do  you?" 

"  Not  in  ordinary  circumstances,  of  course,  but  if 
some  member  of  the  lodge  was  accused  of  it  and  your 
testimony  could  clear  him  it  would  be  your  duty  to 
tell." 

For  once  I  had  touched  the  right  chord  in  Joe's 
bosom.  Under  all  his  wildness  and  mischief  there  was 
honor  and  conscience,  and  I  could  see  in  a  moment  that 
my  shaft  had  struck  home. 

"  Well,  I  vow;  that's  plaguey  mean,  Leander,  if  they 
have  done  any  such  thing.  Was  that  what  the  fuss 
was  about?" 

u  How  do  you  know  that  we  had  any  fuss?"  I  asked 
again. 


A  LODGE  QUARREL.  143 

"  0,  I'm  acquainted  with  an  old  woman  that's  a 
witch.  She  showed  ine  how  to  make  myself  invisible 
and  lent  me  her  broomstick;"  coolly  fibbed  Joe,  the 
spirit  of  fun  again  getting  the  upper  hand.  And  then 
he  added,  with  a  sudden  change  of  tone:  "They  have 
not  been  accusing  you^  have  they,  Leander?" 

44  Not  exactly,  only  Darius  Fox  " — 
~x      Joe  started. 

J    44If  I  don't  shut  his  mouth!    Darius  Fox.     That's 
~  /good.     Never  you  fear,  Leander,  I'll  make  him  whist  as 
a  ibaouse." 

And  Joe  chuckled  to  himself  like  a  young  Machi- 
avelian. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

LUKE  THATCHER. — RUMORS. — MASONRY  IN  ITS  RELIGIOUS 
ASPECTS. 

>  N  a  warm  evening  in  the  latter  part  of 
July,  Luke  Thatcher  happened  along, 
and  leaning  over  the  fence  in  the  ap- 
proved fashion  of  rural  communities, 
began  a  general  chat  with  me  about  the 
weather  and  the  crops — one  of  those  quiet 
bucolic  discourses  in  which  the  heart  of 
your  true  farmer  delights,  for  Luke  Thatcher 
was  in  every  fiber  of  his  being  a  true  son  and 
lover  of  the  soil.  Nobody  in  all  Brownsville  raised 
finer  cattle  or  gathered  in  a  heavier  harvest  than  he, 
for  even  in  those  days,  when  there  was  no  such  thing 
as  an  agricultural  college  thought  of,  and  treatises  were 
few  and  costly,  there  were  thinking  farmers;  and  Luke 
Thatcher,  out  of  a  very  ordinary  common-school  edu- 
cation, had  brought  what  some  fail  to  bring  from  the 
universities — habits  of  observation  and  study,  together 
with  a  keen,  inquiring  mind,  that  liked  to  know  some- 
thing of  the  philosophy  underlying  nature's  wonder- 
ful operations.  He  could  talk  intelligently  about  the 
various  minerals  that  go  to  make  up  the  soil,  and  tell 
how  a  preponderance  of  one  or  a  scarcity  of  the  other 


HUMORS.  145 

could  best  be  remedied;  he  knew  the  fine  points  in  cat- 
tle and  was  something  of  a  veterinarian,  whose  services 
were  in  frequent  demand  among  his  neighbor's  live 
stock,  his  own,  by  judicious  care  and  feeding  seldom 
being  on  the  diseased  list. 

It  could  hardly  be  supposed  that  such  a  man  would 
find  in  the  foolish  ceremonials  of  the  lodge  anything 
especially  pleasing  to  his  mental  01  moral  sense,  and  in 
silent  disgust  Luke  had  quitted  the  institution  like 
many  others,  feeling  that  his  manhood  had  been  dis- 
graced and  degraded;  that  he  had  been  duped  and  lied 
to;  yet,  through  motives  of  mingled  fear  and  shame, 
willing  to  remain  silent  rather  than  confess  that  in 
surrendering  his  neck  to  the  cable-tow  he  had  put  him- 
self under  a  secret  power  which  exacts  of  its  slaves, 
silence — anywhere  and  everywhere,  SILENCE.  No  mat- 
ter how  much  they  despise  it  in  their  hearts,  no  matter 
if  heaven-eyed  Truth  herself  stands  before  them  and 
commands  them  to  testify;  no  matter  if  Justice  falls 
in  the  street  and  Liberty  dies  on  the  very  threshold  of 
her  birthplace,  a  Mason  must  be  silent — and  it  is  the 
very  least  the  hoodwinked,  cable-towed  system  of  dark- 
ness demands  of  him. 

u  I  heard  some  news  to  dajT,"  said  Luke,  just  as  he 
turned  to  go.  "  I  came  across  an  old  acquaintance  from 
Batavia,  and  what  do  you  suppose  he  told  me?  That 
Captain  Morgan  was  going  to  publish  all  the  secrets  of 
Freemasonry  up  to  the  Royal  Arch  degree."" 

"  Did  he  tell  it  on  good  authority?"  I  asked,  aston- 
ished, but  at  the  same  time  utterly  incredulous. 

"  Of  course  T  don't  know  just  how  the  story  started," 
answered  Luke, u  but  I  know  it  is  something  more  than 
mere  rumor.  The  one  that  told  me  was  a  Mason,  and 


146  HOLDER  WITH  COEDS. 

he  said  they  had  just  had  a  meeting  of  the  lodge  in 
Batavia  to  consider  what  could  be  done  about  it." 

«>  Well,  what  do  they  intend  to  do?"  I  asked. 

"  Suppress  the  book  if  they  can;  but  I  don't  see  how, 
unless  " — 

Luke  stopped  abruptly,  and  whatever  the  thought 
that  was  in  his  mind  it  remained  unuttered. 

Of  course  1  went  to  my  grandfather  with  the  news, 
but  he  was  one  of  that  easy,  good-natured  class  of 
human  beings  who,  in  relation  to  evil  tidings,  have  a 
happy  faculty  of  skepticism. 

UI  don't  believe  it,  Leander.  He  may  have  some 
enemy  that  has  set  the  story  to  going.  Perhaps  he  is 
getting  up  some  book  for  the  use  of  the  fraternity; 
but  Captain  Morgan  is  the  last  man  that  would  go  to 
work  to  expose  the  secrets  of  the  order.  I  am  certain 
of  that." 

"  But  they  seem  to  believe  it  there  in  Batavia,"  I 
suggested. 

My  grandfather  smoked  his  pipe  for  a  moment  with- 
out replying,  a  look  of  trouble  on  his  round,  cheerful 
face;  but  it  cleared  up  as  he  finally  said — 

"Lies  most  generally  start  in  a  man's  own  neighbor- 
hood just  as  toadstools  grow  round  an  old  house.  I 
made  it  a  rule  years  ago,  and  it  is  a  good  rule,  Leander 
— I  wish  everybody  would  follow  it — not  to  mind  evil 
reports.  Ten  to  one  they  will  turn  out  to  be  false,  and 
even  if  they  are  true  it's  bad  stock  to  invest  in.  1  re* 
member  when  I  was  a  young  man  courting  your  grand- 
mother, somebody  told  her  an  awful  lie  about  me — that 
I  had  two  strings  to  my  bow  and  was  courting  another 
girl  besides  her.  Wejl,your  grandmother — there  ain't 
many  women  now-a-days  as  handsome  as  she  was, 


RUMORS. 

though  Rachel  has  a  look  like  her,  tall,  with  color  in 
her  cheeks  like  a  rose  and  black  eyes  that  would  flash 
if  anything  was  said  that  didn't  suit  her — just  turned 
round  to  the  one  that  told  it  (it  was  Jack  Stebbins — 
he  liked  her  and  wanted  to  cut  me  out,  so  there  was 
some  excuse  for  him  after  all,  poor  fellow),  and  says 
she,  '  I  don't  believe  a  word  you  say;1  and  marched  out 
of  the  room  like  a  queen.  I've  often  thought  what  an 
effect  it  might  have  had  on  me  if  your  grandmother 
had  believed  Jack  Stebbins.  But  the  next  time  I  saw 
her  she  told  me  the  whole,  and  put  it  right  to  me  if  it 
was  true.  And  then  for  the  first  time  we  saw  straight 
into  each  other's  hearts.  I  never  felt  sure  before  that 
she  really  cared  for  me,  there  were  so  many  others  that 
wanted  her  that  had  more  money  and  could  make  more 
show  in  the  world  than  I  did.  But  she  gave  me  her 
promise  that  very  night,  just  fifty  years  ago,  Leaiider." 

And  my  grandfather's  eyes  grew  dreamy,  as  he  leaned 
back  in  his  chair,  having  ended  his  stoiy  and  moral 
lecture  together.  Memories  of  the  past,  like  a  sweet- 
scented  wind,  were  breathing  through  his  soul,  and  the 
gentle  smile  on  his  aged  lips  told  that  for  the  moment 
he  had  forgotten  the  joys  and  sorrows  of  half  a  century 
and  was  a  young  lover  once  more,  happy  in  the  great- 
est earthly  gift  God  can  bestow  upon  man — the  heart 
of  a  true  woman. 

I  knew  now  why  my  grandfather  had  always  been 
so  fond  of  Rachel,  why  he  laughed  at  and  seemed  to 
enjoy  her  little  imperious  speeches,  why  his  eyes  often 
followed  her  about  with  such  a  look  of  pensive  pleasure. 
She  reminded  him  of  his  own  buried  love,  over  whose 
head  the  daisies  had  blossomed  for  many  a  long  sum- 
mer since  he  laid  her  to  rest  in  that  quiet  New  England 


148  HOLDER  WITH  CORDS. 

churchyard,  and  thought  his  heart  was  broken.  But 
while  her  name  grew  dim  under  the  gathering  moss, 
time  did  its  blessed  work  of  healing,  and  though  my 
grandfather's  sorrow  for  the  lost  partner  of  his  youth 
had  been  so  deep  as  to  forbid  him  ever  taking  to  him- 
self another,  he  could  speak  of  her  with  a  smile,  and 
when  he  read  in  his  large-print  Bible  of  the  City  which 
hath  no  need  of  sun  or  moon,  because  the  Lamb  is  the 
light  thereof;  he  could  stifle  every  pang  of  mortal  re- 
gret, thinking  of  a  white-robed  anger-  form  'that,  free 
from  all  stain  of  earthly  infirmity,  waited  for  him  with 
love's  sweet  patience  on  the  other  side. 

I  would  not  break  in  on  my  grandfather's  reverie 
with  any  words,  and  in  a  moment  or  two  silently 
quitted  the  room. 

Rachel  had  proved  herself  a  careful  housewife,  a 
prudent  manager,  a  loving  helpmeet, — one  in  whom  the 
heart  of  her  husband  might  safely  trust.  She  made 
the  door-yard  gay  with  marigolds  and  pinks  and  prince's 
feather;  she  coaxed  morning-glory  vines  to  clamber 
about  the  windows;  she  cooked  to  perfection  all  the 
honest,  homely  dishes  that  in  those  days  were  the  com- 
mon bill  of  fare,  even  of  the  most  well-to-do;  she  spun 
and  wove,  and  that  pearl  of  good  managers,  u  the 
virtuous  woman,"  herself  could  not  have  excelled  her 
in  this  particular  line  of  household  industry.  But  all 
the  while  that  her  busy  hands  moved  so  lightly  and 
deftly  from  one  task  to  another,  any  one  of  keen 
spiritual  insight  might  have  seen  in  her  dark  eyes  the 
look  of  a  soul  nut  at  peace,  but  covering  up  its  inward 
unrest  with  the  thought  that  "  it  was  no  use  to  tell." 

But  one  Sunday  Rachel,  who,  had  been  sitting  for  a 
while  with  her  Bible  open  on  her  lap,  suddenly  closed 


MASONRY  1ST   ITS  KELIGIOUS   ASPECTS.  149 

it,  ana1  hiding  her  face  on  my  shoulder  burst  into  tears. 

U0,  Leander!  how  I  wish  I  was  a  Christian,"  she 
sobbed.  "I  have  always  wished  so,  but  lately  more 
than  ever.11 

"  0,  well;"  said  I,  in  my  mingled  perplexity  and  de- 
sire to  comfort  her,  saying  the  first  thing  that  came 
uppermost,  u  if  we  pray,  and  read  the  Bible,  and  try 
to  do  as  near  right  as  we  can,  it  seems  to  me  that  is  all 
that  is  required  of  us.  Even  a  Christian  cannot  do 
anything  more." 

"  I  used  to  think  so  myself,"  answered  Rachel,  "  but 
I  have  done  all  these  things  and  no  good  has  come  of 
them  that  I  can  see.  No,  I  don't  mean  just  that.  It 
isn't  a  right  way  of  expressing  myself.  These  ought 
to  be  done,  but  there  must  be  something  left  undone; 
there  must  be  some  truth  that  I  don't  understand 
which  needs  to  be  understood  and  brought  into  some 
relation  to  my  daily  life  before  I  can  feel  satisfied.  And 
now,  Leander,  I  am  going  to  ask  you  a  question  and  I 
want  you  to  answer  me  truly." 

Thus  adjured  I  promised  to  do  so  to  the  best  of  my 
ability,  not  without  some  misgivings,  however,  due  to 
the  fact  that  Rachel's  "  questions  "  were  often  of  a 
rather  startling,  not  to  say  embarrassing,  nature. 

u  It  is  just  this,  Leander.  Ever  since  I  can  remem- 
ber I  have  heard  Masonry  called  a  '  religious  institu- 
tion.' Now  I  don't  care  a  pin's  worth  for  your  secrets, 
but  even  the  Jews  would  let  the  dogs  under  the  table 
eat  of  the  children's  crumbs,  and  if  there  is  one  single 
divine  truth  taught  in  the  lodge  that  would  help  me,  I 
am  willing  to  take  up  with  the  merest  crumb  uf  it.  * 

I  could  not  suspect  Rachel  of  concealed  sarcasm, — 
not  with  those  unshed  tears  still  trembling  on  her  eye- 


150  HOLDER   WITH   CORDS. 

lashes,  but  1  think  Elder  Gushing  himself  might  have 
felt  somewhat  embarassed  by  such  a  peculiar  claim  on 
his  Masonic  charity.  If  I  kept  my  promise  and  "  an- 
swered Rachel  truly,"  I  must  either  say  that  Masonry 
was  less  benevolently  inclined  than  even  Judaism  in 
its  worst  estate,  or  confess  that  it  had  in  reality  no  di- 
vine truths  to  impart;  not  a  whole  or  even  a  half  loaf 
to  its  own  children,  much  less  the  crumb  for  profane 
cowans  outside. 

"  Masonry  is  a  moral  institution,"  I  said,  at  last.  "  It 
doesn't  profess  to  make  men  Christians." 

u  But  it  is  certainly  religious,"22  contested  Rachel. 
"It  has  chaplains  and  high  priests,  and  of  course 
prayers  and  an  altar,  and  some  kind  of  a  ritual.  That 
all  follows  as  naturally  as  B  follows  A.  And  whoever 
heard  of  an  institution  that  was  just  u  moral "  and 
nothing  else,  doing  what  Masonry  does,  and  claiming 
for  itself  what  Masonry  claims?  This  is  all  I  judge 
by,  and  it  is  enough.  Haven't  I  been  to  Masonic 
funerals  and  haven't  I  heard  Masonic  ministers  preach 
aud  pray?  If  they  told  the  truth  it  is  a  great  religious 
system;  and  if  it  is  anything  less  than  that,  all  their 
preaching  and  praying  was  just  a  lie  from  beginning 
to  end.  Haven't  I  heard  them  call  it  time  and  again  a 
divine  institution  ?  Don't  they  claim  that  it  is  founded 
on  the  Bible?  that  its  teachings  are  the  very  essence 
of  Christianity,  the  sum  total  of  truth  and  virtue? 
that  it  actually  contains  in  itself  e\7erything  needed  to 
make  man  perfect  in  this  life  and  insure  him  an  entrance 
into  the  Grand  Lodge  above?  Of  course  John  and 
Paul  must  have  been  mistaken  when  they  called  Heaven 
a  city  instead  of  a  Grand  Lodge,"  added  Rachel,  who 
was,  I  am  afraid,  growing  a  trifle  sarcastic,  "or  it  may 

NOTE  22. — "  The  Speculative  Mason  Is  engaged  in  the  construction  of  a 
spiritual  temple  in  his  heart,  pure  and  spotless,  fit  for  the  dwelling  place  of  Him 
who  is  the  author  of  purity.  ^—Mackey's  Ritualist,  p.  39. 


MASONRY  IN"  ITS  RELIGIOUS   ASPECTS.  151 

be  only  an  error  of  the  translators.  I  have  a  great 
mind  to  ask  Elder  Cushing's  opinion  on  that  point  the 
next  time  I  see  him." 

"  Perhaps  it  -would  be  a  good  idea,  Rachel,"  I  said 
meekly. 

Did  the  conversation  draw  us  nearer  together  in  that 
close,  enduring  bond  which  reaches  into  eternity,  of 
two  souls  united  in  one  high  purpose,  to  know  and  serve 
their  Maker?  Did  it  not  rather  drive  us  apart  ?  Rachel 
had  spoken  the  truth,  though  as  yet  not  conscious  of 
the  whole  truth,  about  Masonry.  It  was  a  religion. 
But  while  Rome. honored  her  Vestal  virgins,  and  the 
old  Goths  their  fair-haired  Valas;  while  the  grand,  all- 
embracing  faith  of  the  blessed  Redeemer,  sweeping 
away  such  superstitious  reverence,  had  raised  woman 
wherever  it  found  her,  to  the  broadest  social  and  mental 
equality  with  man,  Masonry  classes  the  whole  sex  in- 
discriminately  with  " fools  and  atheists,"  and  then  has 
the  audacity  to  flaunt  before  the  eyes  of  the  world  as 
the  "  essence  of  Christianity." 

Meanwhile  a  cloud  was  gathering  that  was  yet  to 
cover  the  land,  and  the  low  mutterings  of  the  distant 
thunder  began  to  be  very  audible,  even  in  Brownsville. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

THE     GATHERING     STORM. 

'Y  grandfather  said  but  little  after  it 
ceased  to  be  rumor  and  became  report 
that  Captain  Morgan  of  Batavia  was 
writing  out  the  secrets  of  Mason  ry  with 
intent  to  publish  them  to  the  outside 
world,  and  feeling  rather  curious  to  learn 
what  shape  his  thoughts  were  taking  I  asked 
him  one  day  if  he  really  believed  the  book 
would  ever  be  published. 
UI  don't  know,  Leander.  I  don't  know,"  he  an- 
swered, with  a  dubious  shake  of  his  gray  head.  "  I  am 
sorry  Captain  Morgan  has  been  so  unwise  as  to  under- 
take such  a  thing.  It  will  only  hurt  him.  and  being  a 
family  man  he  ought  to  consider  his  wife  and  children. 
And  of  course  it  will  hurt  Masonry  to  begin  with,  but 
1  have  been  thinking  it  over,  and  it  is  my  opinion  that 
in  the  end  it  will  only  be  an  advantage  to  it." 

"How  so?"  I  asked,  somewhat  surprised  at  this  san- 
guine view  of  the  case. 

•'  Why.  don't  you  see,  Leander,"  said  my  grandfather, 
laying  down  both  pipe  and  newspaper  in  his  earnest- 
ness. "  Masonry  will  have  to  be  altered  if  this  thing 
goes  on.  I  don't  mean  in  any  of  it's  essentials,  for  of 
course  it  cannot  change  in  spirit  or  principle;  but  I 


THE   GATHERING   STORM.  153 

have  been  thinking  there  could  be  no  better  chance  to 
reform  the  institution  in  a  few  points — to  drop  for  in- 
stance some  of  its  forms  and  ceremonies  that  are  only 
a  needless  offence  to  young  candidates,  and  substitute 
others  in  their  stead  more  in  agreement  with  the  pro- 
gressive spirit  of  the  age;  in  short,  to  have  less  of  the 
law  and  more  of  the  gospel  in  it.  And  if  this  should 
be  the  result  of  Morgan's  publishing  the  secrets,  I,  for 
one,  don't  care  in  the  least  how  soon  it  is  done." 

And  over  this  agreeable  outcome  of  the  whole  affair 
my  grandfather  waxed  decidedly  cheerful  and  turned  to 
his  pipe  and  paper  with  a  very  untroubled  air;  pausing, 
however,  almost  as  soon  as  he  began  to  read,  with  his 
finger  on  a  certain  paragraph,  to  which  he  called  my 
attention.  It  ran  as  follows: — 

NOTICE   AND  CAUTION. 

If  a  man  calling  himself  WILLIAM  MORGAN  should  intrude  himself  on  the 
community  they  should  be  on  their  guard — particularly  the  MASONIC  FRA- 
TERNITY. Morgan  was  in  this  village  in  May  last,  and  his  conduct  while  here 
and  elsewhere  calls  forth  this  notice.  Any  information  in  relation  to  Morgan 
can  lie  obtained  by  calling  at  the  MASONIC  HALL  in  this  village.  Brethren 
and  companions  are  particularly  requested  to  observe,  mark  and  govern 
themselves  accordingly. 

JjS^Morgan  is  considered  a  swindler  and  a  dangerous  man. 

i3P~  There  arc  people  in  this  village  who  would  be  happy  to  see  this  Captain 
Morgan. 

"Canandaigua,  August  9,  1826." 

44  May  last."  I  repeated.  "  That  was  the  time  I  saw 
Captain  Morgan  in  the  stage  coach.  Don't  you  remem- 
ber my  speaking  about  it  ?" 

But  my  grandfather  did  not  answer.  He  generally 
read  anything  important  over  twice,  and  was  now  en- 
gaged in  giving  the  notice  a  second  careful  perusal. 

"  Leander,"  he  said,  finally,  pushing  back  his  glasses 
with  one  hand  while  the  finger  of  the  other  continued 
to  point  at  the  italicized  words,  u  what  did  they  do  in 


154  HOLDER  WITH  COKDS. 

the  lodge  last  night?  I  haven't  thought  to  ask  you 
before,  but  I  suppose  Elder  Gushing  and  the  rest  of  the 
committee  made  their  report.'' 

"  Well,  not  a  report,  exactly;  Elder  Gushing  said  it 
was  a  matter  to  be  settled  in  the  chapters,  but  not  ripe 
yet  for  discussion  in  the  lodge.  He  had  no  authority 
to  say  anything  more  than  this,  that  Morgan's  book 
should  and  would  be  suppressed/1 

My  grandfather  looked  thoughtful  but  said  no  more, 
an4  after  a  moment  of  silence  resumed  his  reading. 

In  those  days  a  newspaper  was  not  the  lightly  es- 
teemed article  which  it  is  now,  and  all  my  grandfather's 
were  carefully  saved  for  Rachel  and  I  to  read,  and  after 
we  had  done  with  them  they  were  passed  to  somebody 
else,  and  so  on  ad  infinitum.  Thus  it  happened  that 
Rachel's  eye  fell  on  the  same  notice,  and  her  wonder 
and  curiosity  were  at  once  aroused. 

uLeander."  she  said,  "  I  don't  understand  it.  What 
has  Captain  Morgan  been  doing  so  bad  that  he  must  be 
pointed  out  to  the  public  as  "  a  swindler  and  a  danger- 
ous man?"  And  what  do  these  words  mean:  u  observe, 
mark  and  govern  themselves  accordingly?" 

"  Only  violating  his  Masonic  oath,"  I  replied,  think- 
ing it  best  to  answer  the  easiest  question  first.  "  So  I 
suppose  this  is  intended  to  warn  the  fraiernity  against 
him." 

kt  Then  why  don't  they  use  good  common  English?" 
said  Rachel.  "  What  is  the  use  of  all  this  beating 
about  the  bush?  Or  is  it  intended  that  it  should  only 
be  understood  by  Masons?" 

Now  I  knew  well  enough  what  had  made  my  grand- 
father so  suddenly  thoughtful.  I  knew  that  un- 
der that  form  of  words  lurked  a  sinister  meaning, 


THE   GATHERING   STORM.  155 

detected  by  Rachel's  quick  and  pure  perceptions,  as 
one  feels  the  slimy,  creeping  presence  of  a  serpent. 
For  the  report  of  what  was  doing  in  Batavia  had  spread 
like  wild-fire  through  the  whole  Masonic  camp,  and 
created  an  excitement  not  at  all  to  be  wondered  at 
when  it  is  considered  that  on  the  keeping  of  its  secrets 
inviolate  hinged  the  whole  question  whether  Masonry 
should  continue  to  be  what  it  had  been  in  the  past, 
"  the  power  behind  the  throne,"  swaying  the  decisions 
of  bench,  and  senate,  and  council  chamber;  or  whether, 
its  silly  secrets  and  impious  ceremonies  fully  unvailed, 
it  should  go  down  like  a  mill-stone  before  the  popular 
scorn,  in  the  graphic  words  of  Scripture,  u  a  hissing 
and  a  reproach."  Brownsville  lodge  even  forgot  Sam 
Toller  in  this  more  immediate  and  absorbing  subject  of 
interest.  It  held  several  meetings  in  which  there  was 
much  free  and  hearty  abuse  of  the  worthless  miscreant 
and  perjured  villain,  Captain  Morgan,  and  many  stout 
assertions  made  that  Masonry  not  only  never  had  been 
revealed,  but  never  could,  would  or  should  be.  And 
considering  how  often  this  sentiment  was  repeated  the 
general  excitement  among  Masons  of  every  class  and 
condition  over  a  thing  that  could  not  possibly  happen 
was  certainly  a  curious  phenomenon. 

Still  the  ordinary  social  life  of  Brownsville  remained 
undisturbed.-  There  was  the  same  sound  of  village 
gossip,  the  same  small  tragedies  and  comedies  that  go 
to  make  up  the  sum  of  daily  living.  Every  Sunday 
standing  in  the  sacred  desk,  Elder  Gushing  preached 
and  prayed  precisely  as  he  had  preached  and  prayed  so 
many  Sundays  before,  and  how  should  anybody  suspect 
that  he,  a  minister  of  the  Gospel  of  peace  and  good 
will  to  men,  was  all  the  while  cherishing  murder  in  his 


156  HOLDEK  WITH  CORDS. 

heart?  Still  less,  that  the  same  remark  could  just  as 
pertinently  be  made  of  many  of  his  brother  ministers 
whose  devotion  and  piety  no  one  thought  of  impugn- 
ing. And,  furthermore,  would  it  not  have  been  a 
strange  and  startling  thing  to  tell  in  the  ears  of  any 
lover  of  law  and  order  that  not  in  Brownsville  only, 
but  scattered  through  the  whole  county  and  State  were 
sheriffs,  justices  of  the  peace  and  ex-legislators,  either 
committed  personally  to  the  same  course  of  action  or 
giving  it  their  tacit  approval?  Yet  it -was  true,  never- 
theless, though  many  an.  honest  Mason  would  have 
been  full  as  slow  to  believe  it  as  the  most  skeptical 
outsider.  For,  like  most  other  systems  of  evil  that 
have  cursed  poor,  weak  human  kind  since  the  Fall, 
Masonry  understands  perfectly  well  that  the  fanaticism 
or  even  the  depravity  of  its  members  are  not  more 
valuable  aids  in  carrying  out  a  plan  of  concealed  in- 
iquity than  the  honest  stupidity  of  good  men;  men  who 
would  not  themselves  injure  a  fellow  being,  and  are 
therefore  slow  to  suspect  it  of  others;  men  who  have 
practically  deserted  its  counsels  and  can  deny  with  all 
the  assured  confidence  of  ignorance  that  "these  things 
are  so." 

u  There  is  something  about  this  piece  that  1  don't 
like,"  continued  Rachel,  decidedly;  "it  is  too  much 
like  stabbing  a  man  in  the  dark  to  call  hini  a '  swindler ' 
and  'dangerous  '  to  the  community,  and  not  tell  what 
he  has  done.  But  of  course  it  is  wrong  for  Captain 
Morgan  to  break  his  oath." 

Rachel  sat  for  a  moment  with  her  eyes  fixed  on  the 
floor  and  had  only  just  resumed  her  reading  when  Joe 
brought  in  a  letter  from  Mark.  He  wrote  that  we 
must  not  expect  him  home  this  vacation  as  he  could 


THE   GATHERING   STORM.  157 

not  well  afford  to  spend  either  the  money  or  the  time. 
He  was  now  making  rapid  progress  in  the  classics  and 
the  higher  mathematics  and  felt  that  the  few  weeks  of 
exemption  from  school  duties  must  be  improved  to  the 
utmost,  especially  as  he  had  a  prospect  of  advancement 
to  a  higher  position  next  quarter.  The  letter  contained, 
as  usual,  much  love  to  all  at  home,  and  many  inquiries 
after  sundry  four-footed  friends  about  the  farm,  and 
ended  with  a  grateful  mention  of  Elder  Gushing. 

u  Dear  boy!1'  was  Rachel's  only  comment,  though 
she  looked  disappointed. 

"  Well,  Rachel,"  said  I,  folding  up  the  letter,  u  you 
must  acknowledge  that  Elder  Gushing  has  done  a  good 
thing  for  Mark  in  getting  him  this  situation,  and  you 
see  how  deeply  Mark  seems  to  feel  his  obligation  to 
him.  He  might  have  been  plodding  along  in  the  old 
ruts  to  day  if  the  Elder  hadn't  happened  to  take  such 
an  interest  in  him,  and  now  there  is  no  saying  what  he 
may  get  to  be — Judge,  or  Senator,  or  perhaps  President 
— who  knows?" 

Rachel  smiled,  but  it  was  a  very  thoughtful  little 
smile.  Then  she  turned  suddenly  round  to  me. 

"Leander,"  she  said,  "I  want  to  tell  you  a  short 
story.  There  was  once  a  beggar  who  was  heir  to  a 
throne,  only  he  didn't  know  anything  about  it.  And 
one  day  a  man  came  across  him  who  was  a  royal  em-4 
bassador  from  his  father's  court,  specially  commissioned 
to  find  the  missing  heir.  But  what  did  the  man  do? 
He  was  very  kind  to  him ;  he  took  pains  to  procure  him 
a  good  situation  with  a  fair  prospect  for  rising  in  life; 
but  all  the  while,  though  he  knew  he  was  the  king's 
long  lost  son,  lie  verer  told  liim  of  it!  Now  do  you 
understand  my  parable?'' 


15S  fiOLDEN  WITH   COEDS. 

u  Not  very  well.  What  has  all  this  to  do  with  Mark 
and  Elder  Gushing?" 

"  A  great  deal,  as  you  will  see  after  I  have  explained 
it  to  you.  Mark  is  a  Christian,  I  firmly  believe,  and 
Elder  Gushing  knows,  or  ought  to  know  it.  Why 
hasn't  he  ever  told  him?  Why  hasn't  he  been  at  least 
half  as  anxious  to  prove  him  an  heir  of  Christ  as  to 
make  him  a  Mason?  I  tell  you,  Leandor,  if  he  had 
been,  even  though  he  had  never  got  him  this  situation, 
Mark  would  have  a  thousand  times  more  reason  to  feel 
grateful  to  Elder  Gushing  than  he  has  now." 

And  having  had  her  say,  Rachel  dropped  the  subject 
till  some  other  time  when  the  spirit  should  again  move 
her. 

No  one  in  the  lodge  denounced  more  severely  the 
doings  of  that  u  vile,  perjured  wretch  "  in  Batavia,  than 
Darius  Fox,  who,  by  the  way,  had  been  very  civil  to  me 
since  our  little  disagreement  previously  mentioned,  and 
had  even  apologized  after  a  fashion  for  his  offensive 
words  in  the  lodge  meeting.  As  for  me  I  was  very 
willing  to  let  bygones  be  bygones,  and  only  quietly 
wondered  at  his  change  of  manner,  though  not  without 
a  hidden  inkling  that  Joe  might  have  explained  the 
mystery  had  he  felt  so  disposed. 

"  It  won't  do  to  mind  all  a  fellow  says,  especially 
when  he  gets  worked  up,  and  the  time  has  come  now 
for  all  true  Masons  to  hang  together;  if  we  don't,  our 
secrets  will  get  to  be  nothing  but  a  by-word  from  one 
end  of  the  country  to  the  other.  The  publishing  of 
that  book  must  be  stopped.  There  are  no  two  ways 
about  it.  If  we  can't  do  better  we'll  send  Morgan  to 
travel  East  one  of  these  days — consign  him  to  a  kind 
of  honorable  exile,  you  know.7' 


THE  GATHEKIKG   STOKM.  159 

And  Darius  chuckled  over  his  little  joke,  the  point  of 
which  I  failed  to  see  very  clearly,  but  not  liking  to 
show  my  stupidity,  let  it  pass. 

Mr.  Fox  was  a  Royal  Arch  Mason,  and  so  had  the 
right,  not  possessed  by  ordinary  members  of  the  lodge 
who  had  taken  but  three  degrees,  to  know  what  was 
doing  in  the  chapter.  Deacon  Brown  was  another 
thus  privileged,  and  expressed  himself  quite  as  decidedly 
in  regard  to  the  matter  as  did  Mr.  Fox,  though  in  a 
little  different  fashion,  as  befitted  his  age  and  ecclesi- 
astical standing. 

"  This  is  the  time  for  every  good  Mason  to  rally  to 
the  support  of  the  most  moral,  humane,  and,  next  to 
the  church  itself,  the  divinest  institution  on  earth.  To 
be  indifferent  or  careless  in  such  a  crisis  is  to  provoke 
the  wrath  of  heaven.  '  Curse  ye  Meroz,  curse  ye  bit- 
terly the  inhabitants  thereof,  because  they  came  not 
up  to  the  help  of  the  Lord  against  the  mighty.'' " 

It  struck  me  that  the  worthyj)eacon  was  a  little  out 
in  his  quotation;  that  it  was  a  rather  violent  stretch  of 
the  imagination  to  say  the  least,  to  class  that  open- 
browed,  clear-eyed,  brave-souled  man  who  sat  writing 
in  his  little  room  in  Batavia,  among  the  "  mighty," 
however  apposite  the  term  might  be  when  applied  to  a 
vast  secret  power  that  numbered  its  adherents  by  tens 
of  thousands  all  over  the  land,  and  boasted  itself  in- 
vincible. But  the  Deacon  seemed  quite  oblivious  of 
having  made  this  little  dip,  and  it  was  not  for  me  to 
enlighten  him. 

Thus  matters  went  on  in  Brownsville  lodge,  the  air 
charged  with  a  kind  of  brooding  electricity,  like  the 
subterraneous  lightning  which  foreruns  the  earth- 
quake. But  though  there  was  plenty  of  talk  like  the 


160  HOLDER  WITH  CORDS. 

above  which  made  me  vaguely  uneasy,  it  was  mostly  of 
that  enigmatical  sort  which  may  mean  much  or  little, 
according  as  one  chooses  to  interpret  it.  To  my  un- 
derstanding it  only  expressed  a  determination,  more  or 
less  decided,  to  suppress,  if  possible,  the  publication  of 
the  book,  and  1  was  sufficiently  ashamed  of  my  own 
share  in  Masonic  fooleries  to  feel  quite  willing  to  see 
this  done.  But  the  idea  of  violence,  of  actual  murder! 
—who,  as  I  said  before,  could  possibly  suspect  such 
things  of  his  neighbors  and  fellow  townsmen — worthy, 
respectable  men  for  the  most  part,  who  went  to  church 
regularly  and  voted  at  every  town  meeting,  and  de- 
meaned themselves  like  Christian  citizens  of  a  free  Re- 
public! I  did  not  and  could  not  believe  it,  especially 
after  my  grandfather's  easy  way  of  viewing  the  subject, 
and  I  put  it  to  the  reader  if  he  could,  in  a  similar  situa- 
tion, have  thought  otherwise. 

So  the  days  wore  on — those  August  days  of  Anno 
Domini  1826. 

uWe  are  going  to  gather  in  a  splendid  crop^this 
year,  but  I've  worked  hard  enough  to  do  it,"  I  said  to 
my  grandfather  with  a  litffe  pardonable  pride,  as  we 
stood  looking  at  the  acres  of  waving  grain  ripe  for  the 
sickle. 

''That's  right,  Leander;  the  hand  of  the  diligent 
maketh  rich,"  answered  my  grandfather,  approving- 
ly. "But  now  I  think  of  it,  I  wish  when  you  take 
your  flour  to  market  you  would  contrive  to  stop  at 
Batavia  coming  back  and  see  Jedediah  Mills  for  me. 
A  man  at  my  age  ought  to  have  no  loose  ends  to  his 
affairs,  and  there's  a  little  matter  of  business  between 
us  I  would  like  to  have  settled  up."' 


THE   GATHERING   STORM.  161 

I  readily  promised,  little  thinking  that  in  so  doing  1 
was  about  to  become  a  spectator,  and  in  some  sense  an 
actor,  in  scenes  so  strange  and  startling  that  to  the 
reader  of  to-dav  they  seem  more  like  romance  than  a 
part  of  sober,  veritable  history. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

A     NIGHT     IN    BATAVIA. 

rR.  SAMUEL  D.  GREENE  kept  the  Park 
Tavern  in  Batavia,  at  which  I  put  up 
late  one  Saturday  night.    He  had  moved 
there  from  Pembroke  a  few  years  before, 
and  it  was  in  the  latter  place  that  Sam 
/k    Toller  had  spent  a  brief  period  in  his  em- 
ploy, with  a  result  already  known  to  the 
reader. 

A  still,  quiet  man,  not  yet  forty,  was  mine 
host  of  the  Park  Tavern,  born  of  a  line  of  godly  an- 
cestors in  the  quiet  old  town  of  Leicester,  in  Massa- 
chusetts; a  gentleman  and  a  scholar,  who  had  received 
his  education  at  a  famous  New  England  University, 
and  while  fitted  by  his  superior  breeding  and  culture 
for  a  higher  position  was  b}T  no  means  disqualified 
thereby  for  the  homely  practicalities  of  his  present 
manner  of  life,  as  evinced  by  the  fact  that  his  house 
was  widely  known  as  one  of  the  best  places  of  enter- 
tainment in  the  country.  Furthermore,  he  was  a 
Christian  man  who  believed  in  prayer,  and  tried  to 
square  his  every  action  by  the  Bible;  a  patriotic  and 
public-spirited  citizen,  moreover,  to  whom  his  towns- 
men naturally  looked  when  there  was  any  responsible 


A  1UGHT  IK  BATAVIA.  163 

office  to  fill,  and,  at  the  time  I  write,  general  guardian 
of  the  young  and  prosperous  village  of  Batavia,  being 
chief  of  its  board  of  trustees.  Such  was  the  man 
whose  name  was  forever  to  be  linked  with  Morgan's— 
a  man  who  could  not  be  coaxed,  nor  bought,  nor 
frightened;  who  could  take  his  stand  on  the  Rock  of 
Ages,  grandly  defiant  of  the  malice  and  persecution 
that  was  to  follow  him,  not  for  a  month  or  a  year,  but 
for  over  half  a  century — perhaps  a  more  searching  test 
of  loyalty  to  truth  than  many  a  martyr's  brief  hour  of 
agony  at  the  stake. 

But  it  must  not  be  supposed  that  I  knew  all  this 
about  Mr.  Greene,  when,  finding  that  Jedediah  Mills 
had  moved  to  Tonawanda,  a  few  miles  off,  I  put 'up  at 
the  Park  Tavern  for  that  night  and  the  following  Sun- 
day, travel  on  the  Lord's  day,  except  in  the  plainest 
cases  of  necessity  and  mercy  being  a  thing  my  grand- 
father never  countenanced;  nor  had  sneers  at  the 
" Puritan  Sabbath"  at  that  time  so  far  let  down  the 
bars  of  public  opinion  as  to  make  it  either  respectable 
or  common.  To  know  that  my  host,  calm  and  quiet  as 
he  outwardly  appeared,  was  in  reality  passing  through 
one  ot  those  ordeals  that  "  try  men's  souls  "  of  what 
stuff  they  are  made;  that  he  was  playing  a  most  diffi- 
cult and  dangerous  part  with  full  knowledge  of  the 
risk  he  was  running,  would  have  surprised  me  very 
much,  but  it  would  doubtless  have  surprised  Mr. 
Greene's  neighbors  more. 

For  I  had  made  my  visit  to  Batavia  in  troublous 
times.  Men  stood  talking  in  excited  groups  on  the 
street  corners,  and  the  general  air  of  the  place  was 
more  that  of  a  village  standing  in  the  way  of  some  in- 
vading army  and  hourly  expecting  to  be  pillaged,  than 


164  HOLDEK   WITH   OOKDS. 

a  quiet  American  township  whose  peace  no  war  not 
rumor  of  war  was  ever  likely  to  disturb. 

But  a  key  to  this  state  of  affairs  had  been  furnished 
me  by  a  rather  singular  encounter  which  took  place 
when  I  was  coming  down  on  the  canal.  I  had  just 
stepped  off  the  boat  at  one  of  the  landings  when  a 
man  came  up  and  clapped  me  on  the  shoulder  with  the 
words — 

u  We've  got  to  play  'possum  for  a  while.  There's 
some  traitor  in  the  camp.  Blast  him!  Miller  has  got 
warning  and  is  on  his  defence." 

But  as  soon  as  I  turned  round  and  confronted  the 
speaker,  naturally  startled  at  this  style  of  address,  the 
quick  'change  in  the  man's  face  showed  him  to  be  aware 
of  his  mistake  and  not  a  little  disconcerted  thereat. 

"  Beg  pardon,"  said  he,  "  but  I  was  expecting  to 
meet  an  acquaintance  here,  and  you  were  dressed  so 
much  like  him,  and  are  just  about  his  build,  that  I 
could  have  sworn  it  was  he  as  you  stood  there  with 
your  back  to  me.  You  are  a  Mason,  perhaps?" 

This  was  spoken  in  a  low  interrogatory,  the  stranger 
scanning  my  face  meanwhile  with  a  pair  of  snake-like 
eyes.  He  was  dressed  in  light  clothes,  outwardly  like 
a  gentleman,  and  to  the  unobserving  might  have  read- 
ily passed  for  such,  but  under  a  critical  view  there  was 
much  in  his  whole  air  and  appearance  that  was  at  vari- 
ance with  this  idea. 

u  Yes,  I  am  a  Mason,"  I  answered,  with  a  quick  not- 
ing of  the  look  of  relief  that  overspread  the  stranger's 
sinister  visage.  He  had  made  a  mistake,  but  by  no 
means  so  bad  a  one  as  he  feared. 

;<  Ah,  going  to  Batavia?" 

"  Yes;  but  may  I  ask  why  you  make  these  inquiries?" 


A   NIGHT  IK  BATAVIA.  165 

I  said,  for  I  did  riot  entirely  like  the  stranger's  cross- 
examination,  and  the  possible  meaning  of  that  speech 
to  his  supposed  friend  just  then  flashed  across  my 
mind,  for  I  knew  that  a  certain  Colonel  Miller  of 
Batavia  was  associated  with  Captain  Morgan  as  his 
publisher,  and  in  the  general  Masonic  zeal  to  suppress 
the  book,  though  by  no  means  fully  aware  of  the  deadly 
form  that  their  hatred  towards  Morgan  was  taking,  I 
knew  there  were  men  in  the  fraternity  ready  enough 
to  use  violence  if  they  could  be  assured  of  safety  to 
themselves. 

"  I  merely  ask  these  questions  to  see  if  you,  as  a 
Mason,  are  prepared  to  govern  yourself  accordingly," 
answered  the  stranger,  with  a  cautious  glance  around 
to  see  if  any  one  was  within  hearing  distance.  u  You 
are  going  on  to  Batavia.  Well  and  good;  only  re- 
member that  whatever  a  Mason  knows,  he  must  know 
nothing  where  the  interests  of  Masonry  are  concerned, 
for  his  oath  is  above  every  other  possible  obliga- 
tion." 

In  his  anxiety  not  to  be  overheard,  the  stranger  had 
hissed  rather  than  spoken  these  last  words  in  my  ear, 
and  now  walked  rapidly  off,  probably  thinking  it  best 
to  let  this  small  lump  of  Masonic  leaven  do  its  work 
unhindered.  It  certainly  raised  considerable  fermenta- 
tion in  my  mind,  for  I  could  not  doubt  there  was  some 
Masonic  conspiracy  against  Morgan  and  Miller  on  foot, 
and  the  stranger  who  had  so  mysteriously  addressed 
me  was  one  of  the  chief  ones  in  the  plot.  Now  to  be 
mistaken  for  a  fellow-conspirator  was  unpleasant 
enough,  but  to  be  told  that  I  must  be  blind  and  deaf  to 
everything  I  saw  and  heard  "  where  the  interests  of 
Masonry  were  concerned/'  or  else  violate  my  obliga- 


166  HOLDER  WITH  CORDS. 

tions  as  a  Mason,  was  more  unpleasant  still,  because  it 
was  the  truth. 

But  the  whole  mystery  stood  revealed  when  I  reached 
Batavia,  for  it  was  as  I  have  said,  the  theme  on  every 
street  corner.  To  protect  his  life  and  property  from 
midnight  violence  by  a  Masonic  mob,  Colonel  Miller, 
in  this  land  of  equal  rights  and  general  respect  for 
law,  had  been  obliged  to  set  an  armed  guard  over  his 
printing  office,  the  plot  against  him  having  been  re- 
vealed— nobody  knew  how — by  some  unknown  mem- 
ber of  the  fraternity  so  poorly  instructed  in  his  Ma- 
sonic obligations  as  actually  to  put  his  duty  to  God 
and  his  neighbor  first. 

From  one  source  and  another,  from  Masons,  and 
those  who  were  not  Masons,  I  had  gained  a  tolerably 
correct  knowledge  of  the  state  of  affairs  in  Batavia  be- 
fore I  entered  the  bar-room  of  the  Park  Tavern,  where 
the  one  exciting  topic  of  the  hour  was  being  discussed 
by  several  new  arrivals  like  myself,  after  the  free  and 
candid  fashion  peculiar  to  American  citizens  in  public 
places. 

"I  say  now, Masonry  is  a  good  thing;"  spoke  up  one 
of  the  said  "  new  arrivals."  "  There's  ins  and  outs  in 
trade,  and  a  whisper  in  the  ear  from  one  of  the  know- 
ing ones  that  can  tell  you  just  when  and  where  to  sell, 
I've  found  as  good  as  hard  dollars  many  a  time  when 
I've  been  to  market  with  flour  and  grain.  And  I  say 
that  to  reveal  the  secrets  as  Morgan  and  Miller  are 
doing  is  a  vile,  dastardly  thing,  for  it  is  like  taking 
money  right  out  of  the  pockets  of  the  farmers  and 
working  men  who  pay  their  lodge  dues  and  have  a 
right  to  enjoy  the  benefits  of  Masonry  without  hin- 
drance from  any  one.  That's  my  view."  And  the 


A   KIGHT   IK   BATAVIA. 


167 


speaker,  an  individual  of  a  ^enus  very  common  every- 
where, who  was  not  so  much  consciously  selfish  as  he 
was  mora!l}T  obtuse,  blew  his  nose  with  the  air  of  one 
who  has  made  a  point  not  easily  carried. 

u  That's  right,  '  always  speak  well  of  the  bridge  that 
carries  you  safe  over,'  my  old  grandmother  used  to  say," 
put  in  a  jocular  looking  man  who  stood  ordering  a 
drink  at  the  bar,  and  now  walked  forward  and  joined 
the  group. 

"  I  believe  in  free  and  equal  rights  for  everybody," 
said  another  and  younger  man.  I  never  could  see  any 
reason,  for  my  part,  why  Masons  should  be  privileged 
before  other  folks.1' 

"  You  ain't  one,  that's  plain  enough,"  put  in  the 
jocular  man.  "  I  have  noticed  that  it  generally  takes  a 
Mason  to  see  the  beauty  of  that  kind  of  thing.  You'd 
better  join  'em  and  you'll  find  the  grapes  are  a  mighty 
sight  sweeter.  Fact  now." 

And  with  a  grin  that  spread  from  ear  to  ear  he  went 
up  to  the  bar  to  take  the  tumbler  of  punch  that  he 
had  ordered,  while  the  other  retorted  with  some  spirit: 

u  I  won't  just  yet,  anyhow.  Pretty  business,  I  say, 
here  in  free  America,  if  a  man  can't  write  and  print 
what  he's  a  mind  to  without  the  risk  of  having  his  life 
taken  and  his  house  burnt  over  his  head!" 

"Now  such  talk  as  that  is  all  bosh,"  answered  the 
first  speaker,  decidedly;  "there  has  been  no  attack 
made  on  Miller  yet,  and  there  won't  be.  The  man  that 
got  up  such  a  story  was  a  fool,  to  my  way  of  thinking, 
and  the  people  that  believe  him  are  more  fools  yet." 

But  at  this  point  the  waiter  came  to  show  me  to  my 
room  and  T  lost  the  rest  of  the  conversation. 

No  midnight  alarm  disturbed  my  rest,  and  the  Sun- 


168      .       HOLDEN  WITH  COEDS. 

day  dawned  as  fair  and  peaceful  as  any  Sunday  morning 
in  Brownsville.  During  the  day  I  took  a  stroll  through 
the  village,  feeling  a  curiosity  to  see  the  building  where 
a  work  that  had  raised  so  much  commotion  and  passion- 
ate excitement  was  going  on.  It  was  in  the  second 
story  of  a  building  separated  from  another  by  a  narrow 
alley  (a  private  family  occupying  the  lower  part),  while 
from  the  corresponding  office  on  the  other  side  hung 
the  sign  of  the  Batavia  Advocate,  of  which  Miller  was 
publisher. 

Suddenly  I  saw,  or  thought  1  saw,  lurking  in  the 
shadow  of  one  of  the  stairways  that  lead  up  to  these 
rooms  from  the  outside,  the  figure  of  a  man,  but  when 
f  turned  again,  thinking  to  be  certain,  it  had  disap- 
peared; but  something  in  that  momentary  glimpse  re- 
called to  my  recollection  the  stranger  who  had  so  mys- 
teriously accosted  me  when  leaving  the  canal  boat. 
Was  it  he?  And  if  so  what  was  he  there  for?  Mis- 
chief, undoubtedly.  But  the  day  had  so  far  passed  in 
perfect  quiet,  and  many  in  Batavia  were  quite  ready  to 
think  themselves  fooled,  and  feel  ashamed  of  their 
alarm,  as  people  are  always  apt  to  when  they  have  rea- 
son to  think  it  groundless.  Even  Colonel  Miller  had 
decided  after  having  guarded  his  office  two  nights  to 
pass  this  without  any  particular  precautions  for  de- 
fence . 

As  for  me  I  retired  to  rest  at  an  early  hour  so  as  to 
be  ready  to  rise  betimes  on  the  morrow,  go  to  Tona- 
wanda,  and  thence  homeward. 

But  I  could  not  sleep.  I  was  sure  I  had  seen  that 
man  lurking  by  Miller's  office.  If  I  shut  my  eyes  his 
face  was  before  me,  his  hissing  whisper  in  my  ear.  The 
incident  which  in  the  daytime  I  had  tried  to  assure 


A  NIGHT  IN  BATAYIA.  169 

myself  was  nothing,  came  back  to  me  in  the  solemn 
night  hours  instinct  with  fearful  possibilities.  What 
should  I  do?  Rouse  the  whole  house  with  my  story 
and  get  laughed  at  for  my  pains?  This  clearly  would 
not  do.  I  sat  up  in  bed  for  a  moment  and  thought  it 
over. 

My  resolution  was  soon  taken.  I  dressed  myself 
all  but  my  boots,  which  I  took  in  my  hand,  so  as  to 
make  no  noise  in  the  passage-ways  or  in  descending 
the  stairs,  and  found  as  I  had  hoped  a  window  easily 
raised  on  the  lower  floor,  out  of  which  I  swung  my- 
self, and  was  soon  hastening  in  the  direction  of  Miller's 
printing  office.  I  could  at  least  give  warning  if  I  saw 
any  indications  of  an  attack,  but  beyond  this  I  had  no 
clearly  formed  resolve  what  to  do  when  I  got  there. 
Circumstances,  however,  with  their  general  kind  in- 
clination to  act  as  guides  in  difficult  cases  decided  the 
matter  for  me.  For  when  I  was  within  a  few  rods  of 
the  office,  1  saw  a  bright  flame  leap  suddenly  up,  dying 
down  with  a  sizzle,  as  if  somebody  had  dashed  water 
on  it. 

I  quickened  my  walk  to  a  run  and  joined  the  chase 
with  two  others  after  the  flying  incendiary.  But  it 
was  a  hopeless  pursuit  for  he  had  the  start  at  the  out- 
set and  the  imminent  danger  of  being  caught  seemed 
to  lend  him  wings.  Paul  ing  and  breathless  the  pur- 
suers gave  up  the  chase  one  by  one  and  came  back. 
One  of  the  two,  puffing  and  blowing  and  uttering  most 
extraordinary  ejaculations  was  —  Sam  Toller!  But 
when  I  turned  and  laid  my  hand  on  his  shoulder,  in 
the  excitement  of  the  moment  I  came  near  being  mis- 
taken for  an  enemy. 

u  Hands  off  !     Help!"  shouted  Sam,  with  a  strength 


170  HOLDER   WITH  COEDS. 

of  lungs  that  brought  his  companion  instantly  to  the 
rescue,  prepared  to  give  me  rough  treatment  under  the 
impression  that  I  was  an  accomplice  of  the  villain  they 
had  been  pursuing. 

uWhy,  Sam.  Don't  you  know  me — Leander  Sev- 
erns?"  I  said;  at  which  the  man  who  had  collared  m$ 
let  go  his  grip,  and  the  astonished  Sam  nearly  shook 
my  hand  off  in  the  vehemence  of  his  surprise  and 
gladness. 

"Know  ye?  Ruther  guess  I  do.  But  how  in  the 
name  o'  creation  should  I  think  of  seein'  you  here, 
this  time  o'  night?'1  And  I  imagined  a  slight  shade 
of  suspicion  in  Sam's  voice. 

14  But  I  wasn't  thinking  of  seeing  you  either,  Sam," 
I  answered,  coolly. 

u  Wall,  I  guess  we're  about  even.  How's  the  Captain 
and  the  rest  of  the  folks?" 

"  Nicely,  Sam.  And  how  has  life  gone  with  you 
since  you  left  Brownsville?" 

"Tips  and  downs,"  answered  Sam,  philosophically. 
"  That's  what  I  take  it  life  is  to  most  folks.  I've  got  a 
job  at  teamin'  now.  That  kinder  suits  me,  not  havin' 
to  buckle  down  to  one  place.  We  were  calkerlatin'  to 
load  with  flour  early  in  the  morning  and  start  for  the 
canal.  And  we'd  just  camped  down  in  our  wagons  to 
go  to  sleep  when  we  see  the  fire.  It  all  happened 
providential  like.  Ye  see  there's  a  providence  to 
a'most  everything  that  does  happen,  if  folks  would 
only  stop  to  think  about  it,"  added  Sam,  who  had  lost 
none  of  his  old  gift  at  moralizing. 

The  wood-work  had  been  thoroughly  saturated  with 
inflammable  material,  while  a  quaniity  of  combustible 
stuff,  all  ready  to  ignite  as  soon  as  the  match  should  be 


\  A  NIGHT  IN"  BATAVIA.  171 

applied,  showed  that  the  incendiary  understood  his 
business,  for  the  fire  had  been  set  directly  under  the 
stairway,  and  nothing  but  the  timely  appearance  of  the 
two  teamsters  had  prevented  a  serious  conflagration. 
Some  of  the  village  people,  roused  by  the  alarm,  now 
gathered  about,  while  Sam  and  I  indulged  ourselves  in 
a  brief  aside. 

u  I  might  ha'  known  you  were  too  much  a  chip  of 
the  old  block  to  go  in  for  any  sich  rascally  doings," 
said  the  former,  when  1  detailed  to  him  my  experience 
with  the  suspicious  looking  stranger;  "  but  I  tell  ye, 
Leander  Severns" — and  Sam,  leaning  up  against  his 
team  spoke  low  but  with  mysterious  earnestness — "  if 
I  ain't  no  Mason  I've  got  a  kind  of  open  sesame,  as  ye 
may  say,  among  them  that  are.  And  only  the  other 
day  I  fell  in  with  a  chap  that  axed  for  a  ride  on  my 
team;  I  found  out  he  was  a  Mason  and  gave  him  the 
grip  and  that  loosened  his  tongue  to  talk  about  what 
Captain  Morgan  is  doing.  And  that  ain't  the  fust 
time  nuther  I've  talked  with  Masons  about  it.  And  I 
tell  ye  I  don't  like  this  style  of  talk;  it's  the  round- 
about kind  that  goes  all  about  the  bush  to  say  one 
word;  and  that  word,  to  speak  it  out  plain,  is  jist  mur- 
der r 

I  was  silent,  for  I  too  had  heard  plenty  of  such 
" round-about"  talk  among  Masons  and  by  this  time 
had  begun  to  surmise  what  it  meant.  Sam  continued: 

"  I  wouldn't  give  a  four-penny  for  Colonel  Miller's 
chance,  nor  Captain  Morgan's  nuther,  if  this  thing 
goes  on.  Tain't  in  human  nater  to  be  all  the  time  like 
a  treed  coon,  and  when  they're  off  their  guard,  why 
then  " — and  Sam  ended  his  sentence  with  a  significant 
gesture,  for  it  was  nothing  less  than  to  lift  his  hand 


172  HOLDER  WITH  CORDS. 

and  draw  it  obliquely  across'his  throat — the  penal  sign 
of  the  Entered  Apprentice. 

"  Nonsense,  Sam,"  I  answered;  but,  I  must  confess, 
rather  faintly.  "  The  law  of  the  land  is  against  mur- 
der, I  believe;  and,  mad  as  the  Masons  are  against 
Morgan  and  Miller,  I  don't  think  they  would  take  their 
lives  and  run  the  risk  of  hanging." 

u  Wall,  I  hinted  as  much  to  that  Mason  I  told  ye 
about,  that  axed  me  for  a  ride  on  my  team,  but  softly 
like,  ye  know;  I  didn't  want  to  mad  him — and  lawful 
sus!  you'd  a  thought  to  hear  him  talk  that  we  were  all 
governed  by  their  Grand  Lodge  and  Grand  Chapters, 
and  what  not.  '  What  are  yer  sheriffs  ?'  sez  he.  '  Who 
are  yer  jurors,  and  yer  lawyers,  and  yer  judges  on  the 
bench?  Who  are  yer  army  officers?  WTho  are  yer 
constables  and  yer  justices  of  the  peace?  Who's  yer 
Governor?  and  hain't  he  got  the  pardonin'  power,  I 
want  to  know?'  I  knew  it  was  jest  so,  and  I  laid  my 
hand  on  my  mouth.  I  hadn't  another  word  to  say,  but 
I  tell  ye  it  jest  stuck  in  my  crop.  Tain't  a  right  state 
of  things  no  how.  Wall,  I  guess  I'll  camp  down  agin. 
I'm  real  glad  to  have  come  across  ye,  anyway.  Jest 
give  my  compliments  to  the  lodge,  will  ye?  Tell  'em  I 
ain't  quite  ready  to  jine  'em  yet  till  I  see  how  this 
little  affair  is  coming  out." 

And  Sam  again  disposed  of  himself  comfortably  with 
his  team,  the  excitement  having  in  some  measure  sub- 
sided, while  I  pursued  my  way  back  to  the  tavern  feel- 
ing very  wide  awake  indeed.  So  this  was  Masonry!  a 
mighty  secret  power  that  laid  its  plans  in  the  dark  and 
carried  them  out  in  defiance  of  every  law  both  of  God 
and  man.  But  as  yet  my  eyes  were  only  half  opened. 
I  considered  the  whole  thing  as  the  work  of  low-bred 


A  NIGHT   Itf  BATAVIA.  173 

scoundrels,  but  at  the  same  time  I  could  not  help  sus- 
pecting that  men  to  whom  it  would  be  scarcely  truth 
or  charity  to  apply  such  a  term,  winked  at  the  lawless 
proceedings,  if  they  did  nothing  more. 

Of  course  the  affair  was  duly  discussed  the  next 
morning  at  the  Park  Tavern  over  an  abundant  break- 
fast, mine  host  moving  quietly  about,  attentive  as 
usual  to  the  wants  of  every  guest,  but  having  very  little 
to  say  himself  except  when  obliged  to  reply  to  some 
direct  remark.  I  began  to  watch  this  quiet,  grave-faced 
man  with  a  new  interest,  having  learned  accidentally 
from  one  of  my  fellow-lodgers  that  he  was  a  third  de- 
gree Mason  like  myself.  What  did  he  think  of  the 
institution?  I  wondered.  That  it  was  of  direct  heaven- 
ly origin  and  this  attempt  at  arson  a  mere  incidental 
freak  on  the  part  of  some  misguided  member? — a  view 
of  the  case  which  was  being  held  forth  with  much 
ardor  by  a  gentleman  of  ministerial  dress  and  counte- 
nance, who  took  pains  to  inform  his  audience  that  "  he 
was  both  a  Royal  Arch  Mason  and  a  Baptist  clergy- 
man; that  he  would  as  soon  think  of  speaking  against 
Christianity  as  against  Masonry,  and  considered  those 
that  did  no  better  than  infidels." 

u  Ain't  there  something  in  the  Bible,"  put  in  the 
jocular  man  previously  mentioned,  u  about  ;  a  strong 
ass  crouching  between  two  burdens?'  One  religion,  1 
take  it,  is  all  human  nater  can  stand  under,  and  I  don't 
blame  any  poor  fellow  unless  he  is  an  ass  outright,  for 
turning  infidel  when  he  has  to  shoulder  two.'1  And 
doubling  up  his  flapjack,  the  buttered  side  in,  and  cut- 
ting it  across  with  mathematical  precision,  he  proceed- 
ed to  dispose  of  it  in  just  four  scientifically  propor- 
tioned mouthfuls,  while  the  other,  not  quite  certain 


174  HOLDER  WITH  CORDS. 

whether  there  might  not  be  a  personal  reference  in- 
tended by  this  allusion  to  the  animal  with  the  short 
name  and  long  ears,  looked  as  if  he  did  not  know 
whether  it  was  best  for  his  dignity  to  let  it  pass  in 
silence  or  attempt  a  reply,  and  before  he  could  make 
up  his' mind  a  sudden  diversion  stopped  the  conversa- 
tion and  converted  the  whole  tableful  into  listeners  to 
a  startling  piece  of  news — Captain  Morgan  had  been 
kidnapped !  Having  rather  imprudently  left  his  board- 
ing place,  which  was  somewhat  out  of  the  village,  a 
little  before  sunrise,  he  had  been  roughly  seized,  thrust 
into  a  carriage  and  driven  rapidly  off  in  the  direction 
of  Canandaigua — all  to  recover  a  shirt  and  cravat 
which  he  was  alleged  to  have  stolen  when  in  that  vil- 
lage the  preceding  May.  So  cunningly  had  the  whole 
plot  been  laid  that  even  those  most  in  sympathy  with 
Morgan  could  see  nothing  in  it  but  a  legal  process  that 
mast  take  its  course,  however  much  it  might  be  re- 
gretted that  such  a  thing  should  happen  at  this  par- 
ticular juncture. 

"It's  all  in  the  way  of  law,  and  that  won't  be  inter- 
fered with,  you  know,"  said  one.  "  It's  just  the  affair 
of  last  August  over  again." 

"  But  that  was  rather  different,"  interposed  another. 
"  Who's  to  go  bail  for  him  in  Canandaigua,  fifty  miles 
away?  Here  in  Batavia  he  was  among  friends." 

"And  his  poor  wife  and  children,"  said  another. 

"  That's  too  bad,  of  course,"  replied  the  one  who  had 
first  spoken,  u  but  men  with  wives  and  children  are 
arrested  for  debt  every  day.  I  don't  see  how  it  can  be 
helped." 

In  all  the  excited  exclamation  and  questioning  I 
noticed  that  Mr.  Greene  bore  but  little  part,  yet  to  this 


A    NIGHT   IN   BATAVIA.  175 

day  1  remember  the  expression  of  his  face  on  reception 
of  the  tidings — neither  startled  nor  disturbed,  but  out- 
wardly calm — as  a  hero  is  calm,  who,  called  upon  to 
act  in  a  crisis  such  as  comes  to  few,  stands  prepared, 
fearless  of  consequences,  to  do  his  duty,  cost  what  it 
may. 

u  You  see  it  is  all  legal,  perfectly  legal,"  pronounced 
the  Masonic  clergyman.  " Unfortunate  circumstances 
usually  do  attend  cases  of  this  nature.  That  is  always 
to  be  expected.  We  must  not  allow  our  feelings,  which 
of  course  are  right  in  themselves,  to  blind  our  judg- 
ment or  make  us  wish  to  interfere  with  the  law." 

'"Yes;  I  see,  I  see,"  said  the  man  who  had  spoken  of 
Morgan's  wife  and  children,  and  who  perhaps  was 
thinking  of  his  own. 

And  to  this  conviction  all  minds  seemed  to  finally 
settle  down.  It  was  a  pity,  of  course,  but  the  majestic 
progress  of  the  law  must  not  be  obstructed. 

Meanwhile,  to  Morgan's  young  wife,  with  her  two 
infant  children,  this  was  but  the  beginning  of  long, 
weary  days  of  waiting  and  watching  for  a  step  that 
came  not — that  would  never  come  again.  God  pity 
her! 


CHAPTER   XX. 

AN     EXCITING     SCENE. 

FTER  leaving  the  Park  Tavern  (which  I 
was  to  visit  under  circumstances  less 
memorable,  perhaps,  but  with  much 
clearer  knowledge  of  many  things,  the 
character  of  my  host  included,  than  I 
then  possessed)  my  intention  was  to  trans- 
act my  business  as  speedily  as  possible 
and  resume  my  journey  homeward  without 
delay.  But  Mr.  Jedediah  Mills  had  gone  to  a 
neighboring  village  on  some  errand  which  would  keep 
him  till  the  middle  of  the  afternoon,  and,  under  the 
circumstances,  though  inwardly  chaffing  at  the  unex- 
pected delay,  I  was  glad  to  accept  good  Mrs.  Mills'  in- 
vitation to  dinner. 

Is  the  reader  so  fortunate  as  to  hold  in  his  remem- 
brance the  picture  of  a  well-appointed  farm-house 
kitchen  of  the  oldeii  times?  Does  he  remember  the 
huge  oven,  out  of  which  came  the  smoking  brown 
bread,  the  pumpkin  pies,  the  Indian  pudding,  baked  to 
that  perfection  of  comely  toothsomeness  which  no 
modern  u  range"  can  ever  hope  to  rival?  Does  he 
remember  the  whole-hearted  hospitality  that  welcomed, 
him,  that  heaped  his  plate  with  every  goodly  viand9 


AN   EXCITING   SCENE.  177 

and  made  him  "  feel  at  home  "  in  the  truest  meaning 
of  the  phrase?  If  so,  he  can  imagine  the  style  of  en- 
tertainment without  more  description,  and  I  will  pro- 
ceed at  once  to  introduce  him  to  the  family. 

Mr.  Jedediah  Mills  was  a  prosperous  farmer  owning 
a  large  farm  in  Tonawanda,  which  he  tilled  with  his 
own  hands  and  those  of  his  two  stalwart  sons.  In 
person  he  was  tall,  with  keen  eyes,  a  short,  stubbed 
beard,  thickly  sprinkled  with  gray,  and  that  peculiar 
development  of  head  which  is  apt  to  mark  an  excess  of 
the  combative  quality.  Mrs.  Mills,  fresh-faced  and 
motherly,  assisted  by  her  daughter,  Hannah,  with  oc- 
casional seasons  of  "  hired  help,''  brewed  and  baked, 
pickled  and  preserved,  and  made  butter  and  cheese;  and 
with  all  these  multitudinous  occupations  found  time  to 
read  and  sew,  to  make  broth  for  an  invalid,  or  tidy  up 
a  neighbor's  sick-room— all  with  the  most  perfect  un- 
consciousness that  they  were  doing  anything  in  the 
least  remarkable. 

Hannah  was  just  like  her  name,  if  the  reader  re- 
members the  meaning  of  the  old  Hebrew  derivative, 
"kind,  gracious."  She  had  none  of  Rachel's  bright 
bloom  and  quick,  imperious  ways;  she  was  not  fair  and 
spiritual  like  Mary  Hagan,  but  was  womanly  and  capa- 
ble and  something  else  besides.  The  soul  that  looked 
out  of  her  honest  gray  eyes  was  that  essentially  moth- 
erly soul,  which  is  the  same  in  the  maiden  and  the 
matron  of  four-score;  one  that  as  the  years  went  on 
would  "  abound  more  and  more "  in  good  works  and 
practical  sense;  cheerful,  helpful,  courageous  ready  to 
advise,  whether  it  concerned  some  question  of  domestic 
economy,  such  as  the  best  way  to  take  out  mildew,  or 
how  to  cut  a  garment  from  a  yard  less  of  material  than 


178  HOLDER   WITH   CORDS. 

is  usually  required,  or  some  perplexing  matter  of  duty 
or  conscience  that  a  ripe  experience  and  a  loving  heart 
can  solve  better  than  all  the  philosophers  and  theolo- 
gians in  the  world.  Anybody  who  has  carefully  studied 
the  lives  of  reformers,  will  doubtless  have  noted  the 
fact  that  their  wives,  either  through  some  instinct  of 
natural  selection,  or  the  kindly  orderings  of  Provi- 
dence, are  apt  to  be  women  of  this  peculiar  calibre — a 
remark  whose  connection  with  my  story  the  reader 
does  not  probably  see  at  the  present  moment.  But  I 
have  a  reason  for  giving  him  so  special  and  particular 
an  introduction  to  Hannah  Mills,  which  will  appear  in 
due  time. 

tk  So  they've  actually  took  Captain  Morgan  off  to 
Canandaigua;"  began  Mr.  Mills,  as  soon  as  the  "  busi- 
ness r  for  which  I  had  come  was  over  and  leisure  al- 
lowed for  other  topics.  u  And  on  such  a  silly,  trumped 
up  charge.  And  then  to  think  of  their  trying  to  set 
fire  to  Miller's  printing  office  last  night.  Well,  it  does 
beat  all  what  the  world  is  coming  to."  And  Mr.  Mills 
looked  decidedly  sober  as  he  felt  it  to  be  a  very  serious 
question  indeed. 

I  asked  him  if  he  was  much  acquainted  with  Colonel 
Miller. 

"  I've  known  him  these  years;  knew  him  when  he 
was  carrying  on  the  publishing  business  in  Saratoga, 
and.  I'll  tell  you  how  he  happens  to  be  so  against  the 
Masons,  though  he  has  taken  one  degree,  just  as  I  was 
fool  enough  to  do  myself.  It  was  about  twenty  years 
ago  that  he  joined  the  lodge  in  Albany.  He  was  going 
to  bring  out  a  new  edition  of  an  old  book,  I  forget  the 
name  of  it,  that  tells  all  about  the  secrets  "- 

"  Jachin  and  Boaz?''  I  suggested. 


AH  EXCITIHG  SCEHE. 


179 

^  0,  yes — Jachin  and  Boaz — that  was  the  name,  come 
to  think  of  it.  So  the  Masons  went  to  work  to  stop 
him  by  telling  him  Masonry  was  altered.  Well,  he 
joined' and  took  the  Entered  Apprentice  degree,  and  he 
found  that  all  the  difference  was  just  a  change  in  the 
grip  or  the  password.  Of  course  it  maddened  him  to 
be  so  lied  to,"  graphically  concluded  Mr.  Mills,  il  and 
the  Colonel  has  been  dead  sfet  against  Masonry  from 
that  day  to  this." 

I  had  come  to  the  conclusion  that  my  entertainer, 
though  a  Mason  of  one  degree,  was  not  over  friendly 
to  the  order,  and  now  ventured  to  ask  how  long  it  was 
since  he  joined  the  lodge. 

"  Well,  let  me  see.  I  guess  it  ain't  far  from  thirty 
years,  for  I  remember  it  was  just  before  our  twins  died 
—Isaiah  and  Jeremiah.  I  was  just  through  with  a 
spell  of  typhus  and  was  sitting  by  the  fire  feeling  real 
discouraged  about  making  ends  meet,  when  my  wife's 
brother  came  in.  He'd  talked  to  me  about  joining  the 
Masons  before,  but  I  never  took  up  with  the  idea  at  all 
till  now  I  began  to  think  it  over,  and  I  concluded  if  it 
really  was  as  he  said,  the  best  thing  I  could  do  for  my 
family  to  become  a  Mason,  why,  I  was  ready  to  do  it. 
So  I  sent  in  my  application  right  off  and  joined  that 
very  week.  But,  as  I  was  saying,  I  had  just  been  down 
to  death's  door  with  typhus  fever,  and  I  suppose  I  was  a 
trifle  weakly.  Anyhow,  after  they  had  put  me  through 
the  usual  tomfoolery  and  went  to  take  off  the  hoodwink 
I  fainted  dead  away,  so  it  was  a  good  while  before  they 
could  bring  me  to.  And  I  haint  been  nigh  the  lodge 
since.  My  wife — she's  at  me  now  sometimes  to  know 
what  made  me  have  that  fainting  fit,  but  I've  never  let 
on.  And  its  the  first  and  only  secret  I  ever  kept  from 


180  HOLDEN  WITH  CORDS. 

Mehitabel.  I  wish  I  had  never  bound  ray  conscience 
in  any  such  way,  but  an  oath  is  an  oath.  Maybe  when 
Morgan's  book  is  printed  she'll  have  a  chance  to  find 
out." 

And  Mr.  Mills  laughed  as  if  he  considered  it  in  the 
light  of  a  joke.  But  I  had  little  heart  to  join  in  his 
merriment,  feeling  that  if  Rachel  once  knew  those 
horribly  silly  secrets  I  could  never  look  her  in  the  face 
again.  So  1  took  occasion  to  suggest  that  possibly  the 
volume  in  question  might  never  be  published  at  all. 

u  Maybe  not,"  assented  my  host,  "for  I  believe  they 
got  hold  of  most  of  Morgan's  papers  when  they  ar- 
rested hin:  last  August.  It's  going  to  be  serious  busi- 
ness— serious  business,  I'm  afraid." 

And  Mr.  Mills  sat  for  a  moment  seemingly  absorbed 
in  studying  the  texture  of  his  pantaloons.  I  finally 
•broke  the  silence  by  making  some  inquiry  about  the 
time  for  meeting  the  next  stage. 

"  Now  you  ain't  go!ng  to  stir  away  from  here  to- 
night," answered  the  good  man  decidedly  "I  won't 
hear  of  it.  I've  got  to  go  to  Savin's  Bend  to-morrow. 
That's  only  a  little  this  side  of  Brownsville,  and  I  can 
take  you  along  just  as  well  as  not." 

I  could  do  nothing  but  yield  to  such  kindly  despot- 
ism and  about  noon  the  next  day  we  entered  Batavia, 
that  village  tying  in  our  route. 

"  I  did  calculate  to  make  an  earlier  start,"  said  Mr. 
Mills,  as  we. set  out,  u  but  something  has  been  happen- 
ing all  the  morning,  till  1  begun  to  think  I  never 
should  get  started.  The  minute  I  opened  my  eyes  I 
remembered  there  was  a  weak  place  in  the  harness  that 
ought  to  have  been  seen  to  before,  and  the  boys  were 
busy,  so  I  had  to  see  to  getting  it  mended  myself;  and 


AN   EXCITING   SCENE.  181 

Merrill — well,  he's  a  good  workman,  but  awful  slow 
about  taking  hold  of  a  job.  Well,  now,  it  is  a  queer 
thing,  but  I've  often  noticed  it — if  matters  begin  to  go 
wrong  with  me  before  breakfast,  accidents  are  pretty 
sure  to  keep  happening  all  day,  just  like  a  row  of  bricks 
— you  topple  one  over  and  the  rest  all  go.  But  a  bad 
beginning  makes  a  prosperous  ending,  they  say.  We 
shall  be  in  Savin's  Bend  by  sundown,  and  you  can  take 
the  coach  from  there  to  Brownsville/' 

And  thus  cheerfully  conversing  we  arrived,  as  before 
stated,  in  Batavia,  to  find  a  new  source  of  excitement 
agitating  the  village  people.  Colonel  Miller  had  re- 
ceived warning  from  the  same  unknown  source  that,, 
at  the  ringing  of  the  noon  bell,  the  Masons  had  planned 
to  rally  in  a  body  and  attack  his  printing  office,  and 
though  in  his  first  alarm  lie  had  prepared  to  have  some 
handbills  struck  off  containing  an  appeal  for  help  from 
his  fellow  citizens  in  the  crisis,  he  had  been  dissuaded 
from  distributing  them  by  the  advice  of  his  friends, 
who  put  no  faith  in  the  report. 

"What  do  you  think  about  it,  Mr.  Mills?"  I  ven- 
tured to  ask,  when  our  informant,  who  averred  that 
the  very  idea  of  such  a  daring  outrage  in  open  day  was 
utter  nonsense,  had  passed  on.  Mr  Mills'  answer  was 
rather  startling.  It  was  merely  to  point  with  his  whip 
down  the  street  and  utter  the  single  ejaculation — 

"  There!" 

A  crowd  of  forty  or  fifty  men  beseiged  Miller's  print- 
ing office,  armed  with  clubs  cut  from  hoop-poles.  I 
saw  two  men,  one  of  whom  I  supposed  to  be  Miller 
the  other  I  did  not  know,  dragged  into  the  street  and 
carried  off  by  the  mob,  and  then  I  turned  to  Mr.  Mills; 


182  HOLDEN   WITH   COEDS. 

"  What  does  this  mean?"  I  asked.  "  Where  are  they 
taking  those  men  to  ?" 

"  It  is  a  lawful  arrest  on  some  charge  or  other,"  said 
a  bystander,  who,  like  us,  was  watching  the  proceed- 
ings. "  Jesse  French,  the  constable,  is  there,  so  there 
must  be  something  legal  about  it." 

Mr.  Mills  uttered  something  which  sounded  very 
much  like  an  imprecation,  either  on  the  law  or  its 
representative  in  the  person  of  Mr.  Jesse  French,  and 
giving  his  horse  a  sharp  touch  with  the  whip,  drove  on, 
the  mob  having  left  with  their  prisoners. 

ki  You  and  I  are  Masons,"  he  said,  grimly;  and  vol- 
umes could  not  have  spoken  more  of  the  inward  re- 
bellion that  was  raging  in  his  soul.  To  be  sure  there 
was  a  difference  between  us — the  difference  being  a 
man  who  is  only  bound  with  one  pair  of  fetters,  and  a 
man  who  is  bound  with  three;  but  when  the  one  pair 
is  rivited  and  clinched  beyond  mortal  power  to  break, 
what  matters  it,  except  for  the  added  burden,  whether 
the  number  be  one  or  fifty? 

We  were  but  a  little  way  out  of  the  village  when 
the  horse  began  to  limp.  The  law  that  accidents,  like 
disasters,  follow  each  other,  which  many  people  besides 
Mr.  Mills  have  discovered  in  the  course  of  their  daily 
living,  still  continued  to  govern  events,  for  the  horse 
had  loosened  a  shoe,  and  there  was  nothing  to  be  done 
but  to  stop  at  the  nearest  blacksmith's.  We  were 
about  to  start  on  again,  when  up  the  road  came  a  cav- 
alcade of  men,  some  in  wagons,  some  on  horseback — 
all  seemingly  animated  by  one  common  object,  which 
was,  as  we  soon  learned,  the  rescue  of  Colonel  Miller 
from  the  hands  of  the  Masonic  mob,  who,  under  color 


AN    EXCITING   SCENE. 

of  law,  were  bearing  him  off  the  same  dark  way  that 
Morgan  had  gone  the  day  before. 

Fire  flashed  from  the  old  man's  eyes.  He  turned  to 
me — 

"  Hang  it  all!  I  don't  care  if  I  am  a  Mason!  I 
won't  stand  and  see  a  man  like  Colonel  Miller  kidnapped 
in  open  daylight  without  lifting  a  finger  to  help  him. 
But  then,"  he  added,  hesitatingly,  u  seeing  that  you  are 
a  third-degree  Mason,  I  don't  know  as  I  ought  to  do 
anything  that  will  get  you  into  trouble.  And  I  sup- 
pose you  are  in  a  hurry  to  get  home  besides." 

ki  Never  mind  me,  Mr.  Mills,"  1  answered,  for  his 
spirit  was  contagious,  "  I  am  too  far  from  Brownsville 
to  be  recognized.  And  they  seem  to  be  going  the  same 
way  we  are.  We  may  as  well  join  them."  And  so  we 
two  Masons,  in  company  with  the  rescuing  party, 
swept  on  up  to  Stafford,  meeting  the  others  where  they 
had  halted  at  a  stone  building,  the  upper  part  of  which 
was  occupied  by  a  Masonic  lodge  into  which  Colonel 
Miller  had  been  taken  for  safe  keeping,  the  other 
prisoner,  Captain  Davids,  having  been  released.  A 
lawyer  by  the  name  of  Talbot  had  accompanied  the 
party  from  Batavia,  arid  now  demanded  entrance  into 
the  lodge-room,  which  demand  was  refused.  But  the 
party  pushed  their  way,  Mr.  Talbot  leading,  into  the 
room,  where  a  curious  scene  was  transpiring.  There 
stood  Colonel  Miller,  a  helpless  prisoner,  while  one  of 
his  captors  stood  over  him  brandishing  a  naked  sword 
over  his  head  and  uttering  loud  threats  in  which  we 
heard  the  name  of  Morgan  mingled  as  the  door  burst 
open. 

"  This  is  no  court  of  justice,"  said  Mr.  Talbot,  in  a 
firm,  clear  voice,  stepping  up  and  taking  hold  of 


184  HOLDER    WITH    COiiDS. 

Colonel  Miller's  arm.  u  You  must  go  on  to  Le  Roy 
where  the  warrant  was  issued."  And  as  the  men  of 
the  hoop-poles,  having  laid  so  much  stress  011  legal 
forms  when  they  arrested  their  prisoner,  could  not  well 
make  resistance  now  their  own  weapons  were  turned 
against  them.  A  way  was  cleared;  Colonel  Miller, 
closely  guarded,  was  ordered  into  a  wagon,  and  we 
naturally  supposed  that  nothing  now  remained  but  to 
proceed  directly  to  Le  Roy. 

But  the  opposing  part}'  were  fertile  in  shifts  and  ex- 
pedients. They  were  not  in  the  smallest  hurry  to  go 
on  to  Le  Roy,  knowing  very  well  that  the  case  would 
drop  through  as  soon  as  they  appeared  before  a  magis- 
trate. Colonel  Miller  was  ordered  out  of  the  wagon, 
then  ordered  in  again,  then  ordered  out,  in  the  most 
capricious  manner,  all  apparently  to  consume  time, 
while  Mr.  Talbot,  in  stern  and  angry  tones,  was  de- 
manding of  the  constable  why  he  did  not  do  his  duty 
and  carry  the  prisoner  on  to  Le  Roy. 

"  Easy  enough  to  see  why.  They  hain't  got  no  case 
against  him,"  whispered  Mr.  Mills,  excitedly.  4t  I'm 
afraid  I've  come  about  as  nigh  swearing  these  ten  min- 
utes past  as  a  Christian  man  conld  and  not  do  it." 

And,  apparently  relieved  by  the  confession,  Mr.  Mills 
leaned  forward  in  his  wagon  to  watch  this  extraordina- 
ry scene.  But  I  was  too  much  attracted  by  a  face  that 
I  saw  and  recognized  among  the  crowd  of  Masons,  and 
which  I  was  certain  recognized  me,  to  pay  much  atten- 
tion to  his  remark.  It  was  Darius  Fox.  How  did  he 
happen  to  be  here,  thirty  miles  from  Brownsville^  en- 
gaged in  this  evil  work?  But  I  did  not  mention  my 
discovery  to  Mr.  Mills,  and  after  a  while  the  whole 
noisy  and  excited  assemblage  moved  on  towards  Le  Roy 


A1ST   EXCITING  SCENE.  185 

with  many  stops  by  the  way,  till  finally  the  party  hav- 
ing Colonel  Miller  in  charge  halted  at  a  tavern  for 
supper,  and  after  a  brief  consultation  with  Mr.  Talbot 
we  saw  the  former  leave  the  wagon  as  if  released  and 
start  off  in  the  direction  of  Batavia.  But  there  was  a 
rush  made  headed  by  the  constable  French,  mid  he  was 
once  more  a  prisoner.  This,  however,  gave  occasion 
for  repeating  the  demand  with  greater  urgency  to  take 
him  before  a  magistrate.  It  was  at  last  acceded  to, 
atid  before  Judge  Barton  occurred  the  strangest  scene 
of  all.  The  constable  Jesse  French,  so  active  in  ar- 
resting him,  oddly  disappeared,  while  neither  plaintiff 
nor  witnesses  came  forwaid  to  support  the  charge 
against  Colonel  Miller,  who  was  accordingly  set  at 
liberty.  But  in  a  few  moments  after  he  had  left  the 
justice-room  there  was  a  hallooing  and  shouting  down 
the  street.  Jesse  French  and  his  posse  had  reappeared 
and  were  trying  to  arrest  him  again. 

There  was  a  rush  of  Colonel  Miller's  friends  to  the 
rescue.  And  I  have  here  to  record  a  most  extraordinary 
feat  of  arms  on  the  part  of  Mr.  Jedediah  Mills  who 
could  by  no  means  sit  quietly  in  his  wagon,  but  jumped 
nimbly  out,  forgetting  his  three-score  years,  and  joined 
in  the  melee  with  as  much  ardor  as  if  he  had  also  quite 
forgotten  the  pressure  of  the  cable-tow — which  perhaps 
he  had. 

Three  times  there  was  a  rush  and  a  rescue.  The 
third  time  right  and  might  prevailed,  and  Colonel 
Miller  was  put  into  a  stage  and  driven  rapidly  home- 
ward. 

Mr.  Mills  jumped  into  the  wagon  and  wiped  his 
heated  brow. 

"  This  is  about  the  hardest  afternoon's  work  I  ever 


186  HOLDEN   WITH   COEDS. 

did.  I'd  rather  break  up  new  land  all  day.  Well,  I'm 
going  on  to  Savin's  Bend.  I've  been  promising  old 
Aunt  Dorcas  Smith  a  visit  this  some  time.  And  she  is 
given  to  entertaining  strangers.  She'll  take  you  in 
over  night  and  be  glad  to." 

But  I  chose  instead  to  take  the  night  coach  to 
Brownsville,  and  reached  home  just  as  the  glow  of 
dawn  was  flushing  the  eastern  sky. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

THE  MYSTERIOUS   CARRIAGE. 

ACHEL  was  by  nature  and  habit  an  early 
riser,  and  as  I  came  up  to  the  house  in 
the  gray  dusk  of  morning,  she  herself 
stood  in  the  open  doorway  breathing  in 
the  sweet,  fresh  air;  and  then,  suddenly 
turning  her  head,  she  saw  me  coming  up 
the  walk,  and  uttered  a  quick  cry  of  pleas- 
ure. 

"  I  really  began  to  feel  worried  for  fear  some- 
thing had  happened  to  you,  Leander,"  she  said.  u  We 
were  expecting  you  home  sooner." 

And  I,  not  caring  to  enter  into  a  detailed  account  of 
the  strange  scenes  of  yesterday,  only  laughed  as  I  re- 
turned her  kiss  of  welcome  at  what  I  called  "her  fool- 
ish fears,"  and  told  her  that  I  had  been  unexpectedly 
detained. 

At  that  instant  a  low  rumble  of  approaching  wheels 
made  us  both  turn  our  eyes  to  the  street,  and  we  saw  a 
common  hack  carriage  dr've  by,  the  curtains  closely 
drawn  and  the  horses  looking  weary  and  jaded  as  if 
from  a  night  of  hard  travel — this  latter  circumstance 
being  the  principal  thing  that  attracted  our  attention 
to  the  vehicle,  although  Rachel  remarked  as  she  leaned 


188  HOLDER    WITH    COKDS. 

forward  to  catch  a  last  glimpse  as  it  was  disappearing 
around  a  curve  of  the  road — 

"  Strange  that  people  want  to  travel  such  a  beautiful 
morning  as  this  with  all  the  curtains  down." 

For  it  was  one  of  those  delicious  mornings  that 
sometimes  comes  in  September,  cool  and  dewy  and  fresh 
as  any  in  early  June,  though  it  promised  to  be  hot 
farther  on  in  the  day  when  the  sun  should  reach  its 
meridian.  Still  there  was  nothing  in  the  appearance 
of  the  closed  carriage  unusual  enough  to  excite  more 
than  a  passing  comment.  And  then  Rachel  hurried 
in  to  see  to  the  breakfast  while  I  took  a  general  view 
of  matters  and  things  about  the  farm,  and  thought 
over  yesterday's  events  in  Batavia,  finding  a  constant 
and  ever  recurring  source  of  uneasiness  in  the  fact  that 
Darius  Fox  was  there  and  saw  me  in  the  party  of 
Miller's  friends.  It  was  easy  enough  to  say  that  "  I 
didn't  care,  and  it  was  none  of  his  business  anyhow," 
when  1  knew  perfectly  well  that  I  did  care,  and  how 
easily  he  could  make  it  his  business  if  so  disposed. 

uNow  do  tell  me  what  detained  you  so,"  said  Rachel, 
as  soon  as  we  were  seated  at  the  breakfast  table.  u  Not 
bad  luck,  I  hope." 

And  considering  that  she  would  probably  hear  sooner 
or  later  what  was  going  on  in  Batavia.  I  related  the 
whole  story,  to  which  she  listened  in  wondering  silence, 
only  giving  her  head  an  emphatic  nod  of  approval 
when  I  told  her  of  my  own  share  in  the  events  of  the 
day. 

"  You  were  on  the  right  side,  Leander — just  where  I 
always  want  to  see  you." 

"  But  it  might  get  me  into  trouble,"  I  said,  cautious- 
ly (I  had  concluded  not  to  say  anything  to  her  about 


THE   MYSTERIOUS   CARRIAGE.  189 

my  seeing  Darius  Fox,  the  valiant,  armed  with  his 
hoop-pole,  in  the  company  of  Masonic  rioters),  "if  it 
should  be  known  by  the  lodge  that  I  was  one  of  the 
party  that  rescued  Colonel  Miller." 

"  Why?"  asked  Rachel,  quickly.  "  Of  course  what 
Masons  were  engaged  in  the  affair  must  have  been  of 
the  baser  sort.  They  can't  hurt  you  an}T."  • 

0,  my  innocent  Rachel!  But  it  was  not  easy  to  un- 
deceive her  when  1  was  not  more  than  half  undeceived 
myself,  and  still  considered  the  outrages  on  Morgan 
and  Miller  as  the  work  of  misguided  individuals,  rather 
than  what  it  really  was — only  the  deliberate  carrying 
out  of  the  principles  of  the  institution.  For  though  I 
had  seen  enough  of  Masonry  by  this  time  to  fear  its 
power  to  vex  and  annoy,  of  the  iron  hand  that  could 
smite  in  secret,  and,  most  horrible  thing  of  all,  so  en- 
slave the  souls  and  consciences  of  men  as  to  make  even 
ministers  and  deacons  consenting  to  the  bloody  deed,  I 
knew  nothing  as  yet. 

"  I  don't  like  the  way  things  are  going  on,  Leander," 
was  my  grandfather's  comment.  "  These  lawless  pro- 
ceedings only  dishonor  Masonry.  No  good  institution 
needs  to  be  defended  by  violence  and  fraud.  As  I  was 
telling  Elder  Gushing  only  the  other  day,  if  Masonry 
is  of  God,  neither  Morgan  nor  Miller  can  overthrow 
it.  And  if  it  isn't " — my  grandfather  came  to  a  pause, 
and  there  was  such  a  look  on  his  face  as  that  old  Roman 
might  have  worn  when  he  delivered  up  his  erring  and 
yet  darling  son  to  the  axe  of  the  executioner — "if  it 
isn't,  then  it  is  of  the  devil,  and  the  sooner  it  is  thrown 
back  on  his  hands  the  better." 

And  having  uttered  this  startling  sentiment  my 
grandfather  closed  his  lips  and  said  no  more. 


100  HOLDEK  WITH 

Neither  Rachel  nor  I  thought  again  of  the  strange 
carriage  we  had  seen  in  the  morning  till  it  was  referred 
to  by  Miss  Loker. 

"  It  must  have  been  the  same  one  Miss  Lawton  was 
telling  about  seeing.  She  was  standing  at  her  chamber 
window  and  saw  it  drive  up  and  stop  a  little  way  from 
Deacon  Brown's  on  the  back  road — a  yellow  carriage 
with  gray  horses.  And  she  see  the  driver  get  off  and 
go  somewhere  after  a  couple  of  fresh  horses,  and  when 
he  came  back  with  them  they  lookecl  just  like  the  dea- 
con's new  span.  And  that  ain't  all.  My  brother's 
wife's  cousin,  Nathan  Leach,  that  keeps  the  toll-gate 
up  at  Platt's  Corner,  says  he  knew  the  driver,  one  of 
the  foremost  men  of  the  place,  and  a  man  that  wouldn't 
be  likely  to  turn  stage  driver  without  there  was  some 
very  particular  occasion  for  it.  And  the  queer  part  of  it 
was,  he  handed  Nahum  the  toll  without  sajTing  a  word 
and  then  walked  off  quick  to  where  the  carriage  was 
standing  two  or  three  rods  away.  And  he  didn't  an- 
swer even  when  Nahum  said,  l  How  d'ye  do?'  You  see 
it  was  in  the  night,  and  the  carriage  drove  up  kinder 
softly  and  mysterious  with  the  curtains  all  down,  and 
no  more  sound  of  anybody  inside  than  if  it  had  been  a 
hearse.  Why,  it  gave  him  a  real  ghostly  feeling, 
Nahum  says.  And  he  hollered  out  loud  enough  to 
wake  himself  if  he  was  dreaming,  '  What's  the  mat- 
ter?' 'Nothing,'  says  the  man,  never  stopping  or 
turning  his  head;  and  then  he  mounted  the  box  and 
the  carriage  drove  off  just  as  it  had  come." 

But  my  grandfather  only  uttered  an  energetic 
"Pooh!"  when  Miss  Loker  had  ended  her  uncanny 
recital. 

u  Maybe  Nahum  was  fast  asleep,     I  wouldn't  won- 


THE  MYSTERIOUS  CARRIAGE.  191 

der.  Now  I  remember  that  when  1  was  Captain  of  the 
Martha  Ann,  the  crew  were  frightened  half  to  death 
one  night  by  something  they  thought  was  a  ghost  in 
the  forecastle.  Well,  it  did  look  just  like  a  woman  in 
white,  with  her  hair  floating  about  her  face,  and  turned 
out  to  be  nothing  after  all  but  a  mischievous  trick  of 
one  of  the  midshipmen.'1 

u  But  there  was  certainly  something  very  queer 
about  it — the  carriage,  I  mean,'1  persisted  my  mother, 
who  did  not  feel  quite  satisfied  at  so  easy  a  disposition 
of  the  subject. 

<l  Well,"  answered  Miss  Loker,  who  was  not  addicted 
to  smoothing  down  hard  facts  either  in  Scriptures  or 
human  life,  "  Nahum  says,  if  it  had  been  a  stranger 
instead  of  a  man  so  well  known  to  him,  as  a  church 
member  and  a  town  officer  beside,  he  wouldn't  have  had 
a  doubt  but  what  he  was  on  some  evil  errand.  And 
says  I,  '  Nahum,  you'd  better  take  your  Bible  and  read 
about  David,  before  you  warrant  a  church  member  for 
not  committing  murder  and  adultery,  if  the  Spirit 
leaves  him  to  himself.  It's  only  by  the  grace  of  God 
that  we  stand  a  minute  without  falling  into  sin,  even 
the  best  of  us!'  says  I." 

"  That  is  very  true,11  answered  my  grandfather,  seri- 
ously. 

And  there  ensued  a  period  of  silence  such  as  usually 
follows  the  utterance  of  one  of  those  great,  mysterious, 
awful  truths  that  hedge  in  our  finite  weakness  with  the 
eternal  strength. 

Through  town  and  village  and  hamlet  all  that  day 
and  night  the  closed  and  silent  carriage  drove — horses 
and  drivers  supplied  as  if  by  magic  so  as  to  cause 
scarcely  more  than  a  moment's  detention  in  the  whole 


192  HOLDEN  WITH  COEDS. 

route  ot  one  hundred  and  twenty  miles.  And  within 
sat  a  man,  gagged  and  bound,  who  knew  that  every 
step  of  the  way  was  leading  him  to  death — not  on  the 
scaffold  where  friend  and  foe  alike  might  witness  his 
last  heroic  stand  for  truth,  but  a  death  in  secret,  bitter 
with  prolonged  suspense  and  agonizing  uncertainty, 
and  all  that  could  add  poignancy  to  the  martyr's  doom. 

Who  shall  say  what  thoughts  filled  the  bosom  of 
that  pale,  silent  man,  as  the  faces  of  wife  and  children 
rose  before  him  on  that  strange  journey!  Were  there 
moments  of  weakness  when  he  half  regretted  the  awful 
sacrifice? — moments  when  flesh  and  spirit  failed  him, 
when  the  tempter  whispered,  "  Yon  have  thrown  away 
your  life  and  what  have  you  accomplished?" 

Doubtless  there  were,  for  William  Morgan  was 
human  like  the  rest  of  us,  but  surely  the  noblest  of 
earth's  martyrs  and  heroes  never  rose  more  grandly 
triumphant  over  mortal  weakness  than  the  man  who 
could  say  to  his  foes  with  a  cruel  death  staring  him  in 
the  face,  "I  have  fought  for  my  country ',  and  as  a 

soldier  I  would  die  for  her" 

#  #  '#  *  *  *  * 

The  scene  changes.  Betrayed  under  the  mask  of 
friendship,  taken  from  the  jail  where,  however  illegal 
and  unjust  his  imprisonment,  he  was  at  least  under  the 
protecting  arm  of  law.  he  is  whirled  farther  and  farther 
away  from  wife  and  child  and  friend,  till  finally  a 
gloomy  prison  house  rises  to  view  over  which  floats  the 
stars  and  stripes,  as  if  in  bitter  mockery  of  him  who, 
because  he  has  dared,  with  a  patriot's  noble  scorn  of 
consequences,  to  expose  the  dark,  secret  power  which 
is  plotting  against  his  country's  free  institutions,  is 
thrust  into  its  gloomiest  hold  never  again  to  see  the 


THE   MYSTERIOUS   CARRIAGE.  193 

light  of  day — for  when  he  is  taken  out  it  is  a  moonless 
starless  night,  fit  shroud  for  the  tragedy  which  follows, 
as  the  river  closes  dark  and  chill  over  the  hapless  vic- 
tim, and  the  murderers  chosen  by  lot  for  the  horrid 
deed  of  blood  row  back  swiftly  and  silently  to  the 
shore,  and,  disbanding,  go  their  separate  ways.  William 
Morgan's  wife  is  a  widow,  her  children  fatherless. 

Verily  Thou  art  a  God  that  hidest  Thyself,  or  else 
would  the  wicked  triumph,  and  law  and  justice  be 
foiled  at  every  turn,  while  over  the  martyr's  name  and 
memory,  Falsehood,  that  familiar  spirit  of  the  lodge,  is 
busy  erasing,  defiling,  destroying — till  at  last  a  gener- 
ation rises  to  whom  Morgan's  story  is  an  idle  tale,  a 
mere  myth  of  the  past?  The  deadly  wound  of  the 
Beast  has  healed,  and  again  his  worshipers  ask  boast- 
ingly  and  tauntingly,  u  Who  is  like  unto  the  Beast? 
who  is  able  to  make  war  with  him  ?" 

But  there  is  One  who  in  righteousness  doth  judge 
and  make  war,  and  ranged  under  his  banner  I  see  a 
small  but  faithful  host,  who,  counting  not  their  lives 
dear  unto  them  have  gone  forth  to  attack  the  monster 
in  his  stronghold.  He  chafes  and  rages,  but  the  arch- 
ers wound  him  sore.  The  fiat  has  gone  forth  against 

him. 

******* 

I  look  again.  In  Batavia's  quiet  cemetery  where  the 
martyr  has  slept  for  over  fifty  years  in  his  nameless  and 
unhonored  grave,  I  see  a  monument  rise  to  his  memo- 
ry. It  is  crowned  with  his  statue,  and  I  look  once 
more  on  the  grave,  noble,  thoughtful  face  seen  so  long 
ago  in  the  Canandaigua  stage  coach.  It  is  the  free-will 
offering  of  men,  women  and  children.  The  hard- 
earned  pennies  of  the  poor  and  the  dollars  of  the  rich 


194  HOLDEN  WITH  CORDS. 

have  gone  side  by  side  to  help  build  it,  and  the  dark 
system  of  falsehood  trembles  to  its  foundation,  for  like 
the  trump  of  doom  in  its  ears  is  the  witness  William 
Morgan  bears  once  more  through  those  lips  of  stone. 

Thank  God  that  I  live  to  see  the  day! 

But  let  me  wake  from  these  dreamings,  remembering 
that  it  is  not  in  1882,  but  in  1826,  that  the  scenes  of 
my  story  are  now  laid. 

Contrary  to  my  fears  no  notice  was  taken  by  the 
lodge  of  my  share  in  the  rescue  of  Colonel  Miller— a 
reticence  on  the  part  of  Darius  Fox  at  which  I  silently 
marvelled,  little  thinking  that  my  mischievous  brother 
Joe  was  all  the  time  holding  over  his  head  a  whole- 
some fear  of  that  particular  mode  of  punishment 
threatened  by  Scripture  on  the  crafty  who  lay  in  wait 
for  their  fellow  men — "  He  shall  be  taken  in  his  own 
snare." 

The  tact  was  he  had  once  been  a  suiter  for  Rachel's 
hand,  and  when  he  found  that  she  would  have  none  of 
him,  some  coolness  of  feeling  towards  his  successful 
rival  might  be  naturally  expected  to  spring  up,  while 
on  my  part,  dislike  to  a  certain  arrogance  of  manner 
had  widened  the  breach,  though  we  still  preserved  an 
outward  semblance  of  cordiality. 

Elder  Gushing  reported  in  the  lodge  "  that  effectual 
measures  had  been  taken  to  suppress  Morgan's  book, 
and  though  he  was  not  at  liberty  to  state,  there  and 
then,  precisely  what  those  measures  were,  all  good  and 
faithful  Masons  might  rest  assured  that  no  further 
alarm  .need  be  apprehended  of  any  publication  of  Ma- 
sonic secrets  to  the  world,  and  he  trusted  that  all  true 
brothers  and  companions  would  join  him  in  a  fitting 
tribute  of  praise  to  the  great  Architect  of  the  universe 


THE  MYSTERIOUS  CARRIAGE.  195 

who  had  been  pleased  to  bring  confusion  on  the  adver- 
saries of  their  ancient  and  glorious  order." 

Though  I  saw  nods  and  winks  pass  between  particular 
members  of  the  lodge,  the  awful  meaning  couched 
under  those  smooth-sounding  words  was  as  yet  a  sealed 
book  to  me;  but  when  the  hour  for  "refreshment" 
arrived  there  was  an  unloosening  of  tongues,  and  a 
very  curious  style  of  talk  succeeded  the  Elder's  speech. 

"I  say,"  said  one,  "there's  big  game  in  Niagara 
River  for  anybody  that  wants  to  go  fishing  there." 

A  laugh  chorused  this  statement,  while  another  in- 
quired— 

u  What  sort?     Bass  or  sturgeon?" 

u  Well,  it  is  an  awkward  sort  of  fish  to  handle,  and 
not  very  common,  so  they  say,"  answered  Darius,  coolly 
draining  his  tumbler.  "  I  understand  there  are  parties 
out  already  with  their  nets  and  lines,  but  if  they  ever 
haul  it  to  shore  they'll  be  good  fellows." 

I  had  listened  to  the  talk  at  first  with  a  mere  feeling 
of  wonder  as  to  what  all  the  chaffing  could  be  about, 
till  the  thought  flashed  over  me  with  a  suddenness  that 
made  me  turn  sick  and  giddy:  Theij  were  talking  about 
Morgan  ! 

"  What  do  you  mean?"  I  asked  of  one  of  the  speak- 
ers as  carelessly  as  I  could. 

"  Our  young  brother  seeks  for  more  light;"  answered 
Darius,  with  a  slight  sneer. 

"  A  most  laudable  desire,  but  at  present  he  must  be 
content  to  learn  the  truth  in  riddles,"  said  Elder  Gush- 
ing, who,  though  not  one  of  the  group,  stood  where  he 
could  overhear  the  talk,  and  had  once  or  twice  joined 
in  the  laughter.  And  what  wonder  that  the  dark 


196  HOLDEN  WITH  COEDS. 

suspicion  melted  suddenly  away  under  the  genial  in- 
fluence of  the  Elder's  benign  smile! 

I  was  going  home  from  the  lodge  when  I  heard  quick 
steps  behind,  and  turning  round  saw,  to  my  astonish- 
ment, for  it  was  a  bright  moonlight  night,  Mark  Sted- 
man. 

"  How  did  you  happen  not  to  send  us  word  you  were 
coming?"  I  asked,  the  first  salutations  over.  "  But 
Rachel  will  be  pleased  enough  to  see  you." 

"You  know  I  am  fond  of  surprises,"  was  the  rather 
evasive  answer.  "  They  don't  know  anything  about  it 
there  at  home.  I  am  coming  to  see  you  and  Rachel 
first." 

I  ushered  him  into  the  great  comfortable  kitchen. 
Rachel  was  not  in  the-  room,  but  a  candle  was  burning 
on  the  table,  and  as  its  light  fell  on  Mark's  face  I  saw 
that  it  looked  worn  and  haggard. 


CHAPTER    XXII. 

MARK  RELATES  HIS   MASONIC   EXPERIENCES. 

ACHEL,  hearing  our  footsteps,  came  hur- 
riedly in  from  another  room,  but  stopped 
short  with  an  exclamation  of  glad  sur- 
prise-as  soon  as  she' saw  who  I  had  with 
me. 

k>  0,  Mark !    How  does  this  happen  ?     Did 
you  work  so  hard  all  the  holidays  that  you 
have  to  come  home  in  term  time  to  be  nursed 
up,  you  poor,  foolish  boy?" 
*'  I   have  come  home  for  good,  Rachel,"  answered 
Mark,  quietly.     "  I  have  lost  my  situation;  but  Masonic 
influence  gained  it  for  me  in  the  first  place,  and  I  have 
nothing  to  complain  of  if  I  lose  it  by  the  same  means." 
Rachel   and   I   sat   down   in   astonished  silence  by 
Mark's  side  and  waited  for  him  to  explain.     But  in- 
stead of  doing  so  he  turned  to  me  with  the  startling 
inquiry — 

u  Leander,  do  you  know  what  the  Masons  have  done 
with  Captain  Morgan?" 
"No." 

'" Do  you  have  your  suspicions?" 
•"  Yes." 
'"Well,  I  know  where  he  is." 


198  HOLDEK  WITH  CORDS. 

Now,  in  Brownsville,  as  well  as  through  all  the 
region  generally,  the  sudden  disappearance  of  Captain 
Morgan  had  become  the  one  exciting  subject  of  talk. 
It  was  known  that  on  arriving  in  Canandaigua  no  case 
was  found  against  him,  and  the  magistrate  had  ordered 
his  discharge,  when  he  was  again  arrested  on  an  alleged 
claim  of  two  dollars  and  thrown  into  jail,  from  which 
he  had  been  taken  on  the  night  of  September  12th, 
and  carried  off  amid  his  struggles  to  escape  and  cries 
of  ki  murder,"  in  the  manner  described  in  the  last  chap- 
ter. In  un-Masonic  circles  there  was  a  general  hope 
and  belief,  shared  by  not  a  few  in  the  lodge,  who,  like 
myself,  were  not  admitted  into  its  secret  counsels, 
either  from  a  suspected  lack  of  Masonic  zeal,  or  because 
they  had  not  advanced  far  enough  in  Masonic  myster- 
ies, that  he  was  kept  concealed  somewhere  irs  Canada, 
and  when  no  further  danger  was  to  be  apprehended 
from  the  publication  of  his  book,  would  be  set  at  liber- 
ty— rumors  of  this  kind  being  very  rife,  though  if  their 
origin  had  been  carefully  traced  out,  a  paragraph  from 
some  newspaper  in  the  interests  of  the  lodge  would 
have  been  found  to  be  in  most  cases  their  starting 
point,  For  this  reason  Mark's  words  aroused  more 
curiosity  than  surprise. 

u  I  was  told  the  other  day  that  Morgan's  place  of 
imprisonment  was  discovered,  but  I  hardly  credit  the 

report.1' 

u  Leander,  his  prison  is  one  whose  doors  will  only 
open  at  the  sound  of  the  last  trumpet;  Captain  Mor- 
gan lies  at  the  bottom  of  Niagara  River." 
'  Rachel  uttered  a  low  cry  of  ho'rror.  I  was  silent- 
struck  dumb  with  the  reflection  of  Elder  Cushing's 
speech  and  the  coarse,  horrible  jesting  which  had  sue- 


MARK'S  MASONIC  EXPERIENCES.  199 

ceeded  it.  Every  allusion  made  by  Darius  Fox  and  the 
group  of  which  he  was  the  center,  most  of  them  Royal 
Arch  Masons  like  himself,  grew  clear  as  daylight. 
They  were  talking  about  the  murder  of  Captain  Mor- 
gan. Elder  Gushing  knew  it  and  that  benign  smile 
and  smooth  speech  was  intended  to  blind  me  as  well  as 
some  others  in  the  lodge  to  a  truth  it  was  thought  best 
not  to  have  us  learn  too  suddenly. 

"  How  do  you  know  Captain  Morgan  has  been  mur- 
dered?" I  inquired  at  last. 

"  From  the  best  authorities  possible — Masons  them- 
selves. Full  five  weeks  before  he  was  kidnapped  in 
Canandaigua,  I  heard  the  subject  discussed  at  a  meeting 
of  the  Chapter,  in  a  way  that  left  no  doubt  on  my 
mind  what  the  fraternity  intended.  A  minister  of  the 
Gospel,  a  Royal  Arch  Mason,  gave  me  my  first  informa- 
tion that  Captain  Morgan  was  writing  out  the  secrets 
of  Masonry.  He  said  that  Morgan  had  forfeited  his 
life  by  the  act,  and  he  himself  would  be  willing  to  be 
one  of  a  number  to  put  him  out  of  the  way,  for  he  be- 
lieved God  regarded  the  Masonic  institution  with  so 
much  complacency  that  he  would  never  allow  his  mur- 
derers— his  executioners  was  the  word  he  used — to 
suffer  for  the  deed.  I  understood  from  a  reliable  source 
that  Morgan  and  Miller  were  both  apprised  of  this 
danger  and  prepared  for  defence  or  I  should  have*  sent 
them  warning." 

"  But  how  does  it  happen  " — 

il  That  I  know  so  much  more  about  this  horrible  busi- 
ness than  you?"  said  Mark,  anticipating  my  unuttered 
question.  "  You  are  only  a  Master  Mason ;  you  have 
promised  to  keep  every  secret  .of  a  brother  Mason, 
murder  and  treason  excepted.  But  lama  Royal  Arch 


200  HOLDER  WITH  CORDS. 

Mason;23  I  have  promised  to  keep  all  a  companion's 
secrets,  murder  and  treason  not  excepted.  Further- 
more, I  am  what  they  call  a  high  Mason;  as  high  as 
Elder  Gushing  himself.  I  took  the  Ineffable  Degrees 
in  the  city  of  New  York.  I  am  a  Knight  Templar;  I 
have  drank  of  wine  from  a  human  skull,  and  over  the 
horrible  draught  I  have  invoked  in  awful  terms  a 
double  damnation  on  my  soul  if  I  violate  the  least  of 
my  Masouic  obligations.  You  and  Rachel  look  horri- 
fied. I  don't  wonder;  but  I  speak  the  words  of  truth 
and  soberness  when  I  affirm  that  this  is  actually  what 
I  and  every  other  Knight  Templar  has  done.  It  is 
called  4  the  sealed  libation '24  because  it  seals  all  other 
obligations  the  candidate  has  taken  or  will  take. 
Henceforth  he  is  bound  by  double  penalties — a  horrible 
death  and  perdition  on  his  soul,  both  invoked  by  his  own 
lips.  What  wonder  that  the  secret25  of  Morgan's  mur- 
der can  pass  safely  and  silently  from  one  Knight  Tem- 
plar to  another  without  the  smallest  fear  of  disclosure!" 

"  But  if  this  is  so,  Mark,  how  dare  you  " — and  again  I 
stopped,  while  Mark  completed  the  unfinished  inquiry: 

"  How  dare  I  reveal  all  this,  you  mean?  But  it  is  a 
very  small  part  of  what  I  intend  to  reveal  to  the  world 
should  God  spare  my  life.  I  am  Masonry's  slave  no 
longer;  I  am  Christ's  freeman.  And  tf  the  foul  insti- 
tution whose  hands  are  red  to-day  with,  the  blood  of 
Morgan  should  require  my  life  also,  may  He  give  me 
strength  not  to  shrink  from  the  sacrifice!" 

tk  But  0,  Mark!  ray  Brother,  be  careful!"  cried  Rachel, 
turning  pale,  while  I  put  in  a  word  or  two  of  caution. 
" Don't  go  to  throwing  away  your  young  life,  Mark. 

NOTE  23.  —  "None  that  deserve  the  name  can  ever  forget  the  ties  of  a  Royal 
Arch  Mason."— Pierson's  Traditions,  p.  339. 

NOTE  24.  — "  Libations  are  still  used  in  some  of  the  higher  degrees  of  Ma- 
sonry. " — Mackey's  Lexicon,  Art.  Libation. 

NOTE  25,  —  "One  of  the  most  notable  features  of  Freemasonry — one,  certain- 
ly, which  attracts,  more  than  anything  else,  the  attention  of  the  profane  world- 
is  that  vail  of  mystery— that  awful  secrecy,  behind  which  it  moves  and  acts. 
From  the  earliest  periods  this  has  invariably  been  a  distinctive  characteristic  of 
the  institution ;  and  to-day,  as  of  old,  the  first  obligation  of  a  Mason— his  supreme 
duty— Is  that  of  silence  and  secrecy."— Sickens  Ahiman  Rezon,  p.  61. 


MARK'S  MASONIC  EXPERIENCES.  201 

You  can  bear  testimony  in  a  quiet  way,  and  do  just  as 
much  good,  perhaps  more  than  by  testifying  publicly." 

But  when  once  the  martyr  spirit  is  fully  roused  in 
man  or  woman,  words  of  merely  worldly  prudence  will 
go  as  far  towards  quenching  it  as  water  poured  on 
Greek  lire. 

u  Ah,  Rachel  and  Leander,  you  both  love  me,  but 
you  must,  forgive  me  if  I  have  already  taken  counsel  of 
a  higher  wisdom  than  yours.  Why  should  I  continue 
to  deny  the  Lord  that  bought  me?  If  I  have  let  fear 
and  shame  govern  me  in  the  past,  must  they  hold  a 
base  dominion  over  me  all  my  life?  Never!" 

u  But  Mark"— 

"  He  that  loveth  his  life  shall  lose  it.  He  that  hat- 
eth  his  life  in  this  world  shall  keep  it  unto  life  eternal  ;*' 
answered  Mark,  solemnly.  u  I  have  learned  not  to 
fear  them  which  kill  the  body.  And  if  you  want  to 
know  where,  it  was  in  an  encampment  of  Knight 
Templars,  when  I  saw  the  sword  of  every  Sir  Knight 
in  the  room  drawn  to  charge  upon  me.  a  poor,  shiver- 
ing, helpless  wretch,  because  I  refused  either  to  drink 
wine  from  a  human  skull  or  take  the  blasphemous 
oath  required  of  me,  and  was  told  by  the  Most  Em- 
inent— '  Pilgrim,  you  here  see  the  swords  of  your  com- 
panions drawn  to  defend  you  in  the  discharge  of  every 
duty  we  require  of  you.  They  are  also  drawn  to  avenge 
any  violation  of  the  rules  of  our  order.  We  expect 
you  to  proceed!1  For  one  instant  I  thought  I  would 
submit  to  anything,  erven  death  itself  first.  And  then 
a  clergyman,  who  was  an  acquaintance  of  mine,  and 
had  accompanied  me — all  the  rest  were  utter  strangers 
— stepped  forward  and  told  me  that  he  and  the  rest  of 
the  Sir  Knights  had  taken  the  oath  and  drank  of  the 


HOLDEN  WITS   CORDS. 

fifth  libation;  that  it  was  all  perfectly  proper,  and 
would  be  qualified  to  my  satisfaction.  Fear  accom- 
plished the  rest.  I  drank  the  cup  of  a  double  curse, 
but  better  I  had  died  a  martyr's  death  on  the  points 
of  those  naked  swords  than  have  done  it!  Satan  de- 
sired to  have  me  that  he  might  sift  me  as  wheat;  but 
now  that  I  am  converted  shall  I  not  strengthen  my 
brethren,  bound  in  these  terrible  meshes — longing  to 
escape,  yet  seeing  no  way  of  deliverance?  Shall  I  not 
by  revealing  all  I  know  of  this  monstrous  system  save 
other  poor  souls  from  being  fooled  and  betrayed  as  I 
have  been?" 

I  looked  at  Mark  in  a  wonder  which  was  due  to  the 
fact  that  while  his  Masonic  obligations  to  secrecy 
seemed  to  rest  on  him  with  the  lightness  of  a  feather's 
weight,  I  felt  them  as  binding  as  ever  on  me,  and  did 
not  understand  how  he,  with  his  more  delicate  moral 
sense  could  dispose  of  them  so  easily.  Mark  must  have 
understood  the  look,  for  he  continued — 

"  Not  a  single  one  of  those  unholy  vows  has  the 
least  binding  force  on  my  conscience.  Once  they 
bound  my  whole  soul  and  mind  and  will  as  with  fetters 
of  adamant,  but  now  the  law  of  the  spirit  of  liberty  in 
Christ  Jesns  hath  made  me  free  from  the  law  of  sin 
and  death.  Those  vows  were  made  to  Satan  and  not  to 
God.  Shall  I  by  continuing  to  regard  them  acknowl- 
edge hi?  authority  over  me?  Shall  I  have  secret  fel- 
lowship with  the  unfruitful  works  of  darkness  because 
too  cowardly  to  come  out  boldly  o*n  the  Lord's  side  and 
expose  them?  Shall  I  give  the  god  of  the  lodge  even 
a  silent  worship? — for  it  has  a  god,  and  lately  I  have 
found  out  his  name.  Not  Jehovah,  maker  and  preserver 
of  men;  not  Jesus  Christ,  our  ever  blessed  Redeemer. 


MARK'S  MASOKIC  EXPERIENCES.  203 

His  name  is  Baal,  the  sun-god  of  ancient  Moab  and 
idolatrous  Israel.  And  in  every  lodge  all  over  the  land 
are  practiced  rites  borrowed  from  the  old  pagan  mys- 
teries;26 the  same  that  Ezekiel  described  in  his  vision: 
'  Behold  at  the  door  of  the  temple  of  the  Lord,  between 
the  porch  and  the  altar  were  five  and  twenty  men  with 
their  backs  toward  the  temple  of  the  Lord  and  their 
faces  toward  the  east.'  You  and  I.  Leander,  did  exactly 
what  those  old  idolatrous  Jews  did  when  we  were  con- 
ducted round  the  lodge  three  times  with  our  faces 
towards  the  east.  We,  too,  were  worshiping  the  sun,27 
or,  call  it  by  another  name,  Baal." 

"But  how  did  you  find  out  all  this,  Mark?"  said  I, 
in  mingled  astonishment  and  perplexity,  greater,  if 
possible,  than  when  I  sat  in  Benjamin  Hagan's  cabin 
and  listened  to  the  honest  backwoods  preacher  as  he 
weighed  the  boasted  morality  of  the  lodge  in  the  scales 
of  the  Ten  Commandments  and  found  it — wanting. 

u  The  murder  of  Morgan  was  the  first  thing  that 
opened  my  eyes,  and  this  little  book,"  added  Mark,  at 
the  same  time  drawing  a  small  volume  from  his  coat 
pocket,  which  he  handed  to  me,  u  has,  under  God,  been 
the  instrument  of  converting  me  forever  from  the  wor- 
ship of  this  false,  unclean,  red-handed  deity  of  the 
lodge." 

I  timied  it  over.  It  was  entitled:  "  An  inquiry  into 
the  Origin  and  Nature  of  Speculative  Freemasonry,  by 
Elder  John  Gr.  Steams."  Mark  continued — 
.  "  Quite  as  much  for  the  crime  of  introducing  this 
book  to  the  notice  of  some  of  my  Masonic  acquaint- 
ances, as  for  my  outspoken  abhorrence  of  Captain 

NOTK  26.-  "  In  the  rite  of  circumambulation  we  find  another  ceremony  bor- 
rowed from  the  Ancient  Freemasonry  that  was  practiced  in  the  mysteries.  *  *  * 
In  making  this  procession  great  care  was  taken  to  move  In  imitation  of  the  course 
of  the  sun."—  Pierson's  Traditions,  pp.  32-33. 

NOTE  27 — "  The  Worshipful  Master  himself  is  a  representative  of  the  son." 
—Morritfs  Dictionary,  Art.  Sun. 


204  HOLDEN  WITH  CORDS. 

Morgan's  murder,  a  hint  was  soon  dropped  me  by  the 
Faculty — all  high  Masons — that  my  resignation  would 
be  acceptable.  Of  course  I  resigned  at  once,  though  I 
let  them  know  at  the  same  time  that  I  understood 
perfectly  well  the  reason  of  my  dismissal.  Now  you 
and  Rachel  know  the  whole  story.  I  have  come  home 
a  humbler,  wiser,  and  I  trust  better  man  than  when  I 
went  away.  *  I  believe  the  Lord  has  a  work  waiting  for 
me.  Till  he  shows  me  when  and  how  to  take  it  up  I 
shall  go  back  and  fill  my  old  place  on  the  farm.  And 
now,  Leander,  I  have  a  question  to  ask.  Are  you  con- 
tent to  remain  longer  with  the  institution  that  has 
taken  the  life  of  Morgan?1' 

"  No;  and  may  heaven  bear  witness  that  I  leave  it 
henceforth  forever,"  I  answered,  solemnly.  And  then 
Rachel,  who  had  sat  silent  hitherto,  gazing  in  blank 
bewilderment  from  one  to  the  other,  as  what  woman 
would  not  on  discovering  that  her  nearest  male  rela- 
tives have  been  secretly  practicing  heathenism,  turned 
to  me  with  the  quick  tears  of  a  sudden  joy  in  her  eyes — 

uNow  you  are  mine,  Leander,  all  mine!  Nothing 
to  come  between  us  more.  Thank  God!" 

I  clasped  her  hand  silently,  and  it  was  like  a  second 
sealing  of  our  marriage  vows. 

.  "  Leander,"  said  Mark,  as  we  were  parting  for  the 
night,  UI  know  your  grandfather  is  a  zealous  Mason. 
What  does  he  say  about  this  affair  of  Morgan's?1' 

u  Very  little;  but  I  think  you  will  find  it  hard  to 
convince  him  that  Morgan  is  not  alive  and  safe  some- 
where in  Canada,"  I  answered.  For  the  fact  was,  my 
grandfather,  though  hitherto  the  most  easy  and  good 
natured  of  beings,  had  developed  of  late  such  a  strange 
testiness  in  regard  io  this  one  particular  subject,  that 


MARK'S  MASONIC  EXPERIENCES.  205 

I  hardly  knew  what  to  think  of  him.  He  refused  to 
listen  to  the  least^  hint  of  any  suspicion  on  niy  part 
that  Morgan  might  have  possibly  fallen  a  victim  to 
Masonic  vengeance.  "Don't  talk  nonsense  to  me, 
Leander,"  was  his  invariable  way  of  disposing  of  the 
subject,  and  after  a  few  attempts  1  finally  shut  my 
mouth  and  talked  no  more  of  the  objectionable  u  non- 


sense.1' 


The  next  morning  we  went  over  to  see  him.  There 
had  been  a  sharp  frost  during  the  night  and  my  grand- 
father, who  suffered  much  with  rheumatism,  and  felt 
keenly  the  sudden  oncoming  of  cold  weather,  we  found 
seated  in  the  kitchen — which  no  one  au-fait  in  the 
domestic  economy  of  those  primitive  days  will  need  to 
be  informed  was,  in  ordinary  cases,  the  family  sitting 
room — enjoying  the  warmth  of  the  bright  fire  blazing 
in  the  huge  fire-place.  He  shook  hands  heartily  with 
Mark,  and  the  latter  after  replying  to  sundry  surprised 
exclamations  and  inquiries  from  my  mother  and  Miss 
Loker,  took  a  seat  beside  him  and  quietly  told  the  aw- 
ful tidings. 

But  contrary  to  all  my  expectation  there  was  no 
impatient  outburst  of  disbelief  on  my  grandfather's 
part.  He  sat  for  a  moment  not  speaking  a  word,  his 
head  bowed  and  his  eyes  fixed  on  the  floor. 

"I  can  bring  proof,  if  that  is  necessary,"  said 
Mark,  who  felt  as  I  did,  at  a  loss  to  interpret  his 
silence. 

"  Proof  !  I  want  no  proof."  And  my  grandfather 
rose  up,  tall,  straight  as  in  the  days  of  his  youth;  and 
taking  off  the  glistening  Masonic  badge  that  he  had 
worn  for  so  many  years,  he  walked  up  to  the  fire  blaz- 
ing on  the  hearth  and  deliberately  flung  it  into  the 


206  HOLDEN  WITH  COEDS. 

flames,  while  my  mother  and  Miss  Loker  looked  on, 
amazed. 

"  I  want  no  proof,"  he  repeated.  "  It  is  all  there — 
in  the  Entered  Apprentice  oath.  Fool  that  I  was 
never  to  see  it  before!" 

And  tottering  back  to  his  chair,  the  excitement  over, 
my  grandfather  W^ed  his  gray  head  and  wept. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

AN   EVENING   IN   THE  LODGE. 

I  HOUGH  Captain  Morgan's  fate  was  by 
no  means  definitely  settled  in  the  popu- 
lar mind,  the  suspicion  grew  stronger 
day  by  day  that  he  had  been  foully  dealt 
with;  and  the  low-muttered  ground- 
swell  of  that  coming  whirlwind  of  indigna- 
tion which  was  to  lay  low  every  lodge  and 
Chapter  in  the  land,  had  already  begun  to 
make  itself  heard  in  the  ears  of  the  startled 
fraternity.  As  a  result,  a  special  meeting  of  Browns- 
ville lodge  was  soon  called — about  a  week  after  Mark's 
unexpected  home-coming.  To  this  meeting  the  latter 
announced  decidedly  his  determination  to  go. 

"For  pity's  sake,  Mark!  What  for?"  I  asked  in 
surprise.  "  I  should  think  you  might  have  had  enough 
of  their  confounded  foolery  by  this  time.  I  don't  care 
if  they  summon  me  fifty  times  over;  I  am  not  going." 
"  Nor  would  I,  Leander,  were  it  not  that  I  feel  called 
of  the  Lord  to  bear  my  testimony  against  the  abomina- 
ble wickedness  of  Captain  Morgan's  abduction  and 
murder.  It  is  like  a  fire  shut  up  in  my  bones  night 
and  day.  And  what  better  place  than  right  here  in 


HOLDER   WITH   CORDS. 

-Brownsville  lodge,  among  friends  and  acquaintances, 
to  stand  up  and  testify?" 

Now  this  "testifying"  spirit  in  Mark  had  already 
begun  to  make  me  uneasy,  with  the  fear  of  what 
might  follow  if  allowed  to  have  its  way  unchecked  by 
a  little  prudent  advice,  which  I  accordingly  proceeded 
to  administer. 

"  0,  come,  Mark;  it  won't  do  the  least  bit  of  good. 
You'll  only  stir  up  a  hornet's  nest  about  your  ears. 
And  as  to  their  being  old  friends  and  neighbors  in 
Brownsville  lodge,  you  know  precious  little  of  human 
nature  if  you  think  it  will  make  any  difference  with 
their  reception  of  what  you  have  to  say.  They  will 
only  be  ten  times  more  bitter  and  abusive  on  that  very 
account." 

All  of  which  was  hard  matter-of-fact  truth,  but  it 
failed  to  move  Mark  an  iota.  The  Lord  had  given  him 
a  message  to  speak  in  the  ears  of  the  lodge  that  would 
probably  make  them  tingle;  that  would  alienate  some 
and  anger  others;  but  of  all  such  merely  human  con- 
siderations he  felt  that  sublime  carelessness  which  be- 
longs to  intense  conviction.  For  wonderfully  had 
Mark  advanced  in  spiritual  life  since  his  soul  burst  the 
lodge  fetters,  and  soared  at  one  glad,  exultant  bound, 
into  the  full  liberty  of  a  child  of  God. 

"Let  them  abuse  me  if  they  will!"  he  answered,  his 
eyes  kindling.  "  I  shall  go  and  bear  my  testimony.  I 
know  there  are  some  in  the  lodge  who  will  hear  me." 

"Now,  Mark,"  said  I,  "I'll  tell  you  just  the  way 
this  matter  stands.  Brownsville  lodge  has  its  disaffect- 
ed members  who  believe  that  Morgan  has  been  foully 
murdered,  and  detest  the  crime;  who  feel  just  as  I  have 
felt  many  a  night^when  I  have  been  to  the  meetings  of 


AN  EVENING  IN  THE  LODGE.          209 

the  lodge,  glad  from  the  very  bottom  of  my  heart  to 
have  seen  the  whole  abominable  thing  blown  sky  high 
the  next  day.  But  the  mischief  is,  there  won't  be  a 
soul  of  them  there  to-night.  They  are  ashamed  of 
their  connection  with  Masonry,  but  are  afraid  to  come 
into  open  collision  with  it.  And  the  consequence  is 
all  such  ones  will  stay  at  home  just  as  I  was  intending 
to  do,  and  only  the  part  that  are  bound  to  stand  by  the 
institution  through  thick  and  thin  will  be  there  to  hear 
you." 

But  none  of  these  things  moved  Mark.  He  rose 
with  quiet  determination  and  proceeded  to  put  on  his 
coat  and  hat,  saying  as  he  did  so — 

"  Anyhow  I'm  going.  It  is  the  only  way  I  can  free 
my  mind  and  conscience.  Silent  withdrawal  from  the 
lodge  is  not  enough.  There  must  be  a  testifying;  and 
whether  they  will  hear  or  whether  they  will  forbear  is 
none  of  my  concern." 

u  Well,  old  boy,"  said  I,  as  his  finger  was  on  the  last 
button,  "  it's  no  use  talking,  I  see,  so  I  may  as  well 
make  up  my  mind  to  go  along  with  you.  I'm  no  hand 
to  make  speeches  myself,  but  I  should  be  sorry  to  lose 
your's.  And  if  I  am  not  mistaken  you'll  need  a  friend 
to  back  you  up  and  see  that  you  have  fair  play  before 
you  get  through.  But  I  must  tell  Rachel  that  I  am 
going."  Accordingly  I.  stepped  to  the  door  of  the 
buttery  where  she  was  busied  in  some  household  avoca- 
tion, and  said — 

u  Rachel,  you  told  me  once  that  you  could  imagine 
circumstances  that  might  make  it  my  duty  to  go  to  the 
lodge.     Now  nothing  will  satisf}7"  Mark's  conscience  . 
unless  he  goes  and  l  testifies,'  as  he  calls  it.     Shall  I  go 
with  him  or  stay  at  home?     What  do  you  say?" 


210  HOLDER  WITH  CORDS. 

Rachel  covered  up  the  batter  she  had  been  setting  to 
rise  over  night,  and  was  silent  for  an  instant.  Then 
with  a  look  which  I  told  her  afterwards  was  quite 
Deborah-like,  she  answered — 

"  Leander,  I  never  wanted  you  to  go  to  the  lodge  be- 
fore, but  I  say  now,  to  you  and  Mark  both,  fear  God 
rather  than  man.  Go,  and  do  your  duty." 

And  thus  strengthened  for  the  fight  as  only  the 
strong,  brave  words  of  a  true  woman  can  strengthen  a 
man,  Mark  and  I  went  forth  to  find  the  brethren  as- 
sembled read}7  for  business  as  soon  as  the  usual  pre- 
liminaries should  be  gone  through  with.  Which  pre- 
liminaries, for  the  enlightenment  of  the  un-Masonic 
reader,  I  will  state  consisted  in  calling  up  the  lodge 
by  three  distinct  knocks  of  the  Master's  gavel,  and  a 
series  of  catechetical  questions  and  answers  between 
the  latter  and  the  two  principal  officers  of  the  lodge  in 
which  might  have  been  learned  several  instructive  facts 
— for  instance,  that  u  his  obligation  makes  a  Mason;" 
"  that  the  Junior  Warden  stands  in  the  south  like  the 
sun  at  high  meridian,  the  beauty  and  glory  of  the 
day;"  "that  the  Senior  Warden  stands  in  the  west 
*like  that  same  luminary  at  its  close;"  "and  as  the  sun 
rises  in  the  east  to  open  and  adorn  the  day,  so  presides 
the  Worshipful  Master  in  the  east  to  open  and  adorn  his 
lodge" — allusions  which  Mark  had  said  were  clear  proofs 
that  Masonry  was  identical  with  ancient  sun  worship28 
practiced  among  the  natives  of  antiquity  under  the  name 
of  the  mysteries  of  Baal  among  the  Jews  and  Canaan- 
ites,  of  Osiris  among  the  Egyptians,  and  Eleusis  among 
the  Greeks.  [See  note  19.]  Then  came  a  prayer  to  the 
unknown  god  of  the  lodge,  the  Great  Architect  of  the 
Universe;  at  which  some  bowed  their  heads  decorously, 

NOTE  28.  — "The  identity  of  the  Masonic  Institution  with  the  Ancient  Mys- 
teries is  obvious  from  the  striking  coincidences  found  to  exist  between  them. 
The  latter  were  a  secret  religious  worship,  and  the  depository  of  religion,  science 
$ncl  art."— Plerson's  Traditions,  p.  18, 


AN  EVENING  IN  THE  LODGE.          211 

while  others  assumed  all  those  curious  varieties  of  atti- 
tudes congenial  to  the  undevotional  mind — Mark  him- 
self sitting-  like  a  statue,  his  arms  grimly  folded,  his 
eyes  looking  straight  before  him,  and  on  his  face  such 
an  expression  of  silent  scorn  and  contempt  as  Elijalrs 
might  have  had  when  listening  to  the  prayers  of  Baal's 
prophets.  And  the  lodge  was  declared  open  for  the 
regular  dispatch  of  business. 

First  in  order  came  the  reading  of  the  minutes  of 
the  last  meeting  by  the  Secretary,  which  as  it  of  course 
included  Elder  Cushing's. report,  naturally  brought  up 
the  business  of  the  present  hour — what  should  be  said 
and  done  in  relation  to  the  widespread  excitement 
about  Captain  Morgan's'  fate? 

Deacon  Brown  was  the  first  one  who  took  the  floor, 
and  his  views,  as  stated  to  the  lodge,  amounted  in  sub- 
stance to  this:  "Let  it  alone  and  it  would  die  down  of 
itself.  Our  ancient  institution  had  always  been  subject 
to  the  malice  and  hate  of  ill-wishers  who  did  all  they 
could  to  impose  on  the  ignorant  and  bring  the  craft 
into  disrepute.  In  his  opinion  the  wisest  policy  for  all 
Freemasons  at  this  critical  juncture  was  to  preserve  a 
discreet  silence,  remembering  that  a  silent  tongtie  was  al- 
ways and  every  where  the  chief  jewel  of  faithful  Masons." 

Another  old  and  respected  member  of  the  lodge  then 
rose:  "  He  was  sorry  to  differ,  even  slightly,  with  the 
Deacon,  but  would  like  to  express  his  view  of  the  case. 
Morgan  had  forfeited  his  life  by  attempting  to  expose 
the  secrets  of  Masonry,  but  whether  or  not  the  penalty 
of  his  violated  oath  had  actually  been  visited  upon 
him,  there  was  one  unanswerable  answer  for  those  who 
would  charge  his  cleath  upon  the  lodge.  Where  was 
the  proof?'1'' 


212  HOLDER  WITH  CORDS. 

Mark  was  on  his  feet  in  an  instant,  and  a  flattering 
hush  of  attention  succeeded.  For  the  lodge  was  in- 
clined to  take  some  pride  in  Mark  Stedman  as  a  rising 
young  man  of  talent  and  worth,  and  a  high  Mason  he- 
sides;  and  as  his  change  of  opinion  had  not  yet  become 
known,  young  and  old  prepared  to  give  respectful  heed 
to  whatever  he  might  say. 

"  I  have  proof,  positive  proof,"  he  began,  speaking 

with  calm,  deliberate  utterance,  "  that  Captain  Morgan 

of  Batavia  was  murdered  somewhere  about  the  19th  or 

20th  of  September, by  being  drowned  in  Niagara  River. 

This  proof  1  am  prepared  to  furnish  to  any  brother  in 

the  lodge  who  may  not  feel  satisfied  in  his  own  mind 

that  so  great  a  crime  has   actually   been   committed. 

But  for  the  majority  of  the  members  now  present  I 

believe  that  no  such  proof  is  necessary.    Lodges  and 

Chapters   through  this  entire  section   of  country,  in 

conjunction  with  the  Grand  Lodge  and  Grand  Chapter 

of  the  State,  have  planned  and  plotted— not  as  distinct 

bodies,  but  in  groups  lyingly  termed  committees,  in 

reality  conspirators — the  murder  of  Morgan  and  Miller. 

Miller  has  escaped,  but  the  blood  of  Morgan  is  on  the 

heads   of- the  entire  Masonic  fraternity;   and  he  who 

seeks  to  cover  up  this  unholy  work  instead  of  exposing 

and  denouncing  it,  but  lays  up  vengeance  for  himself 

against  the  great  day  of  final  doom."" 

Up  to  this  point  Mark  had  been  listened  to  in  per- 
fect silence,  but  it  was  a  stupified  silence.  He  had 
taken  the  lodge  completely  by  surprise — the  more  so  as 
his  calm,  slow  utterance  had  at  first  acted  as  a  partial 
disguise  to  the  scathing  denunciation  contained  in  his 
words.  But  as  his  meaning  fairly  broke  on  the  startled 
assembly,  looks  of  contempt  and  anger  took  the 


Atf  EYElsTlKG  IN"  THE   LODGE. 

of  satisfied  complacency,  and  murmurs  which  broke  at 
last  into  audible  hissing,  filled  the  hall.  Mark  had 
roused  the  lodge  dragon.  My  prediction  made  before 
starting  had  been  fulfilled  with  disagreeable  exactness. 
What  a  comfort  the  mere  sight  of  Luke  Thatcher's 
honest  face  would  have  been  in  that  sea  of  scornful, 
contemptuous  looks! 

Elder  Gushing  and  one  or  two  other  members  tried 
to  quiet  the  disturbance,  and  so  far  succeeded  that 
when  Mark  again  rose  to  speak  in  response  to  a 
call  half  in  earnest,  half  derision,  for  his  proofs  of 
Morgan's  murder,  there  -was  quite  a  profound  si- 
lence. 

"If  I  should  bring  forward  my  whole  array  of  evi- 
dence, beginning  wich  the  first  intimations  that  I  re- 
ceived of  the  conspiracy  against  the  life  of  Morgan 
last  August,  and  the  numerous  conversations  held  with 
Masons  on  the  subject  who  both  acknowledged  and 
justified  his  murder,  I  should  trespass  on  the  time  of 
the  lodge.  My  proof  is  nearer  home.  Sheriff  Fox " 
— and  Mark  leaned  forward  with  a  look  that  was  sword- 
like  in  its  keenness — "  you,  a  minister  of  the  law  whose 
business  it  is  to  punish  the  guilty  and  shield  the  inno- 
cent, you  have  helped  forward  this  work  of  blood. 
Deacon  Brown,  you  have  done  the  same.  And  must  it 
be  said  that  against  you,  Elder  Gushing,  I  have  the 
same  damning  charge-  to  bring?  God  knows  that  as 
my  pastor  I  have  loved  and  revered  you;  that  I  have 
been  sincerely  grateful  for  all  your  many  kindnesses  to 
me,  but  though  every  word  1  speak  is  like  an  arrow  in 
my  heart,  God's  truth  must  be  uttered  without  respect 
of  persons.  On  the  night  of  the  14th  of  September 
there  was  held  in  Lewiston  an  installation  of  the  Royal 


214  HOLDER  WITH  CORDS. 

Arch  Chapter.  That  meeting  decided  Morgan's  fate. 
You  were  present  and  consenting  to  his  death." 

There  was  something  in  Mark's  face  and  voice  that 
seemed  for  an  instant  to  awe  the  lodge.  Even  Darius 
Fox  was  content  with  silently  looking  his  rage  and  de- 
fiance, while  Deacon  Brown,  a  kindly,  well-meaning- 
old  man  till  his  fanatical  devotion  to  Masonry  made 
him  a  murderer,  fairly  cowered  in  his  seat.  Elder 
Gushing  flushed  almost  purple,  but  he  rose  to  reply. 

tk  Some  allowance  must  be  made  for  the  rashness  and 
presumption  of  youth.  Brother  Stedman  in  thus 
venturing  to  accuse  his  elders  and  superiors  in  the 
lodge  shows  his  ignorance  of  the  very  first  principle  of 
Masonic  law:  unquestioning  obedience  and  the  swift 
execution  of  its  penalties  when  violated.  Masonry  has 
its  system  of  laws  and  -the  right  to  punish  their  in- 
fringement as  much  as  the  State  or  the  Church.  And 
what  crime  more  detestable  than  treason?  To  what 
government  under  heaven  can  you  point,  however 
humane  or  enlightened,  which  does  not  punish  it  with 
death?  Morgan  was  a  traitor  to  his  Masonic  vows, 
and  if  he  has  died  the  death  of  a  traitor,  if  his  throat 
has  been  cut  from  ear  to  ear,  his  tongue  torn  out  by 
the  roots  and  his  body  buried  beneath  the  rough  sands 
of  the  sea  where  the  tide  ebbs  and  flows  twice  in 
twenty-four  hours,  he  could  not  complain  of  not  having 
justice  done  him." 

"  Amen.  Amen.  So  mote  it  be;'1  was  the  response 
all  through  the  room  to  the  Elder's  speech.  Mark  took 
in  the  scene  with  eyes  in  which  a  deeper  fire  was  slowly 
kindling,  and  when  he  once  more  rose  to  speak  his 
voice  was  low  and  solemn  as  with  a  prophetic  burden 
of  approaching  doom. 


A  STIGHT   IN  THE   LODGE.  215 

*  Because  ye  have  said,  we  have  made  a  covenant 
with  death  and  with  hell  sire  we  at  agreement;  when 
the  overflowing  scourge  shall  pass  through  it  shall  not 
come  nigh  unto  us,  for  we  have  made  lies  our  refuge 
and  under  falsehood  have  we  hid  ourselves.  Therefore 
thus  saith  the  Lord:  Your  covenant  with  death  shall 
be  disannulled,  and  your  agreement  with  hell  shall  not 
stand;  when  the  overflowing  scourge  shall  pass  through 
then  ye  shall  be  trodden  down  by  it.'  From  this  un- 
holy institution  whose  authority  is  based  on  deception 
and  terror,  whose  morality  is  a  lie,  whose  laws  are  mur- 
derous, whose  oaths  are  high-handed  blasphemy,  I  with- 
draw forever.  God  shall  yet  judge  her,  and  if  there  be 
among  you,  as  I  would  fain  believe,  some  who  do  abhor 
and  detest  this  great  crime  which  has  been  committed. 
I  call  upon  all  such  to  stand  up  and  unite  their  testi- 
mony with  mine  against  it,  that  they  be  not  partakers 
in  her  doom.1" 

I  had  sat  in  silence  fairly  appalled  at  Mark's  daring 
till  now,  but  true  courage  is  always  contageous,  and 
amid  the  storm  of  hissings,  hootings,  cries  of  "  traitor/' 
and  threats  to  send  him  after  Morgan,  which  inter- 
rupted his  speech,  with  one  thought  of  Rachel  I  rose 
and  stood  beside  him.  But  no  one  else  stirred  in  the 
lodge.  It  was  an  awful  moment.  Neighbors,  friends, 
with  whom  we  had  held  pleasant  social  intercourse  all 
our  lives,  glaring  upon  us  with  looks  of  scorn  and  hate, 
abusive  epithets  hurled  at  us  from  lips  that  heretofore 
had  never  anything  but  kindly  greetings!  At  this  mo- 
ment I  can  shut  my  eyes  and  see  it  all,  then  open  them 
shuddering  as  if  from  a  dream  of  hell.  But  Mark 
stood  unmoved,  brave  as  a  lion ;  and  when  a  slight  lull  in 
the  clamor  allowed  his  words  to  be  heard  he  again  spoke: 


HOLDER   WI'EH    CORDS. 

"  Threaten  us  if  you  will;  carry  out  those  threats  if 
you  dare ;  but  remember  that  there  may  be  consequences 
you  will  not  care  to  face.  I  have  spoken  freely  against 
the  principles  of  this  institution.  I  believe  it  to  be 
anti-Christian  and  a  dangerous  foe  to  our  republican 
government.  For  holding  and  expressing  those  opin- 
ions you  murdered  Morgan;  but  I  shall  not  be  deterred 
by  his  fate  from  holding  and  expressing  them  too. 
Freedom  of  opinion,  the  liberty  of  the  press  and  the 
right  of  free  speech  I  will  never  surrender  to  the 
bidding  of  any  earthly  power.  They  are  rights  given 
to  me  of  God,  purchased  by  the  blood  of  my  fathers; 
I  inhaled  them  with  my  first  breath — I  will  only  lose 
them  with  my  last.  Remove  my  objections  to  Masonry 
if  you  can,  when  these  very  threats  you  utter  against 
me  to-night  prove  their  truth  as  no  mere  assertion  of 
mine  can  possibly  do.  But  till  then,  as  I  said  before,  I 
withdraw  from  all  connection  with  the  institution,  and 
disavow  every  obligation  taken  in  blindness  and  terror. 
I  bow  no  longer  at  an  altar  defiled  with  human  blood; 
I  own  no  High  Priest  save  him  who  has  passed  into  the 
heavens;  and  no  Worshipful  Master  but  Jesus  Christ 
my -Lord." 

Mark  had  said  his  say;  the  lodge  had  not.  For  two 
or  three  hours  the  stream  of  invective  and  abuse  con- 
tinued to  flow,  and  then  the  meeting  broke  up  after 
certainly  one  of  the  stormiest  and  most  exciting  sessions 
Brownsville  lodse  had  ever  known. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

FREEMASONRY'S  MASK  REMOVED. — SILENT  ANTI-MASONS. 

— THE  CIRCUIT  PREACHER. — RACHEL  FINDS 

u  PEACE. '' — HE  GIVETH  HIS 

BELOVED  SLEEP. 

N  spite  of  the  lateness  of  the  hour  Rachel 
was  sitting  up  waiting  for  us,  and  as 
soon  as  she  heard  our  footsteps,  flew  to 
open  the  door  and  light  us  in,  the  candle 
which   she    carried    revealing  mingled 
anxiety    and    relief   in   her  countenance. 
Mark  noticed  it. 

"  We  have  been  in  a  den  of  lions,  Rachel."' 
he  said,  "  but  we  have  come  back  safe.     God 
has  shut  their  mouths;  we  have  received  no  harm." 

"  Shut  their  mouths  for  the  present,"  said  T,  rather 
skeptically;  "  but  I  tell  you,  Mark,  if  you  keep  on  the 
rig  you  are  running  now  there  is  no  saying  what  the 
consequences  may  be.  The  fact  is  public  opinion  in 
this  matter  of  Morgan  is  beginning  to  press  so  hard  on 
the  lodge  that  it  is  just  like  a  wounded  wild  bull — 
ready  to  plunge  its  horns  into  everybody  rash  enough 
to  stand  in  its  way.  k  What  they  have  done  to  one  man 
they  will  do  to  another,  if  they  dare.  That's  all  the 
question  there  is  about  it. ' 


HOLDER  WITH  CORDS. 

"  I  don't  think  my  life  is  in  any  present  peril,1'  an- 
swered Mark;  i4  nor  do  I  intend  to  rashly  endanger  it. 
Half  the  battle  is  in  taking  a  bold  stand  at  the  outset. 
They  can  expel  me,  '  derange  my  worldly  interests,' 
4  point  me  out  as  an  unworthy  vagabond,  and  transfer 
my  character  after  me  wherever  I  go.'  This  I  expect. 
But  I  have  counted  the  cost.  You  see  it  is  an  easy 
thing  for  me  to  do  who  have  only  myself  to  count  it 
with.  Bat  it  is  different  with  you,  Leander.  You,  who 
stood  up  with  me  like  a  rock  to-night  against  all  the 
fury  and  abuse  of  the  lodge,  must  count  it  over  with 
another  dearer  than  yourself.  What  do  you  say, 
Rachel?" 

"That  the  cost  shall  never  be  made  more  through 
any  selfish  shrinking  on  ni)'  part,"  answered  Rachel, 
with  glowing  cheek  and  sparkling  eye.  u  Do  you 
think  that  I  will  not  help  Leander  bear  all  the  perse- 
cution and  reproach  that  may  come  upon  him — loss  of 
property,  anything — if  I  can  only  have  my  husband 
back  again,  none  of  these  terrible  lodge  secrets  be- 
tween us?  0,  Mark!"  and  Rachel's  voice  choked  and 
her  eyes  overflowed. 

I  wonder  how  many  Mason's  wives  have  thought  the 
same  in  the  solitude  of  their  lonely  vigils,  bitter  of 
soul  against  the  institution  that  robs  them  of  the  true 
wife's  most  precious  treasure — the  entire  confidence  of 
her  husband! 

To  my  grandfather  it  seemed  as  if  the  murder  of 
Morgan,  revealing  as  by  a  lightning  flash  the  hellish 
spirit  of  the  institution,  to  which,  like  mailf  another 
honest  Mason  he  had  rendered  a  Blind  fealty  only  next 
to  that  he  gave  his  God,  was  like  a  blow  at  his  own 
vitals.  He  lost  much  of  his  old  loquacity  and  choor- 


HOW  GRANDFATHER  BECAME  A  MASON. 

fulness,  and  as  the  cold  weather  set  in  he  grew  feebler, 
but  he  said  little — only  once  when  he  asked  my  for- 
giveness— my  dear,  blessed  old  grandfather — for  having 
persuaded  me  into  the  lodge. 

"  I  never  thought  I  was  advising  you  for  your  harm, 
Leander,11  he  said, pathetically;  "but  you  see  I  became 
a  Mason  when  I  was  a  young  man,  just  before  I  sailed 
on  my  first  long  voyage.  And  the  way  it  happened, 
Dr.  Damon,  stopped  at  our  house  one  day  when  mother 
was  fixing  me  off.  He  was  a  great  man  in  our  part — 
Dr.  Damon  was.  So  mother  bustled  round  and  set  out 
the  decanter  and  sugar  and  hot  water;  and  he  stirred 
and  sipped  while  she  was  telling  how  bad  she  felt  to 
have  me  go  off  to  the  ends  of  the  earth  on  a  three 
years'  voyage.  I  remember  just  how  the  Doctor  looked. 
He  was  a  handsome  old  gentleman  with  silver  knee 
buckles  and  a  great  flowing  wig,  and  just  as  stately  and 
polite  in  his  way  of  speaking,  especially  to  women,  as 
if  he  had  been  brought  up  at  Court.  '  Madam,'  said  he, 
1  your  son  ought  to  become  a  Freemason.  I  may  .say 
that  I  have  heard  of  numerous  well  attested  cases 
where  inability  to  give  the  Masonic  sign  has  cost  a  man 
his  life.  But  I  would  not  wish  to  be  understood  as  re- 
ferring entirely  to  its  advantages  in  times  of  peril. 
Admirably  as  you  have  trained  your  son  he  needs  the 
moral  safeguard  which  joining  such  an  institution  will 
throw  about  him,  and  I  trust,  my  dear  Madam,  that 
you  will  use  all  your  maternal  influence  to  induce  him 
to  take  this  step  before  he  sails.1  Well,  mother — pool- 
dear  soul — believed  what  Dr.  Damon  said.  Why 
shouldn't  she?  And  so  after  he  had  gone  she  pon- 
dered it  over  for  a  while,  and  then  she  said  to  me,  4Well, 
David,  my  son,  perhaps  you  had  better  do  as  the  Doctor 


220  HOLDEK  WITH  CORDS. 

says.  It  is  because  sailors  are  subject  to  such  dreadful 
temptations  that  I  worry  about  you  so.  There  is  noth- 
ing in  the  world  that  I  want  so  much  as  to  see  you  a 
Christian,  for  then  no  matter  what  happened  to  you, 
if  you  were  shipwrecked  or  taken  by  pirates,  I  should 
know  you  were  all  right  for  the  other  world.  Next  to 
that  I  want  to  see  you  possessed  of  principles  so  strong 
that  they  will  resist  all  temptation.  A  young  man  can 
have  these  and  not  be  a  Christian,  but  he  can't  have 
them  and  be  far  from  the  kingdom.  So  if  becoming  a 
Mason  will  help  you  to  be  more  steady  and  moral  and 
upright,  why  I  want  you  to  join  them.'  That  was 
enough  for  me.  I  thought  a  good  deal  of  my  mother. 
Well,  when  I  came  to  join,  it  was  all  as  different  as 
could  be  from  what  I  expected.  The  oaths  and  penal- 
ties shocked*  me,  but  the  charges  and  lectures  all  had 
such  a  good  moral  and  religious  sound  to  them  that 
they  helped  to  quiet  my  mind  a  good  deal,  and  I  never 
let  mother  know  that  I  wasn't  perfectly  satisfied  with 
it.  When  I  came  back  from  my  first  voyage  she  was 
dead.  I  only  stayed  at  home  a  few  weeks  and  then  I 
was  off  again.  It  was  on  my  second  voyage  that  I  ex- 
perienced religion — you've  heard  me  tell  about  it, 
Leander.  It  was  one  awful  night  when  a  typhoon  had 
struck  our  ship,  and  every  man  of  us  seemed  booked 
for  destruction.  I  kept  thinking  of  mother,  and  how 
unfit  I  was  to  join  her  in  the  other  world.  I  could  see 
her  just  as  she  used  to  look  going  about  her  work  and 
singing,  *  When  I  survey  the  wondrous  cross.'  Why 
in  all  that  awful  noise  of  wind  and  water,  and  the 
crash  of  falling  masts  and  parting  timbers,  I  could 
seem  to  hear  her  voice,  and  it  was  just  like  an  angel's 
telling  me  to  repent  of  my  sins  and  flee  to  Christ  for 


221 

refuge.  Masonry  didn't  help  me  much  then.  It  was 
Christ  alone  that  I  wanted.  Well,  of  course  between 
my  .voyages  there  wasn't  much  time  to  attend  the 
lodge,  and  when  I  give  up  the  sea  and  settled  down  to 
a  landsman's  life  I  had  got  out  of  the  way  of  going  at 
all  But  I  reverenced  the  institution.  I  thought  it 
must  be  good  and  according  to  the  Bible,  or  else  min- 
isters and  deacons  wouldn't  uphold  and  support  it.  My 
objections  to  the  ceremonies  and  obligations  T  reasoned 
away — you  know  how,  Leander — till  I  really  saw  noth- 
ing in  them  inconsistent  with  my  Christian  profession. 
I  thought  it  was  a  divine  institution  that  could  neither 
do  nor  teach  anything  wrong,  till  the  murder  of  Mor- 
gan opened  my  eyes.  Mark  Stedman  told  me  no  news. 
I  was  already  convinced  in  my  own  mind  that  Morgan 
had  been  killed,  but  I  fought  against  the  conviction;  I 
wasn't  willing  to  acknowledge  it  till  Deacon  Brown,  in 
private  conversation  with  me,  justified  his  murder — 
only  the  day  before  Mark  came  home.  Then  I  knew 
that  the  whole  system  was  of  him  who  was  a  murderer 
from  the  beginning.  God  deliver  me  from  the  stain  of 
blood-guiltiness  in  this  matter." 

My  grandfather  leaned  back  exhausted  in  his  chair, 
and  I  realized  with  sudden  pain  how  pale  and  feeble  he 
had  grown. 

Now  one  word  with  that  large  and  respectable  class 
of  readers  who  "  can't  believe  that  Masonry  is  such  a 
very  bad  thing  after  all  when  so  many  good  men  belong 
to  it."  It  is  true  there  are  good  men  in  the  Masonic 
order.  Remembering  my  grandfather's  spotless  life, 
his  spirit  of  universal  kindliness  to  all  created  things, 
his  humble  conscientious  performance  of  every  known 
duty,  God  forbid  that  I  should  deny  it.  But  if  we 


222  HOLDEN  WITH  CORDS. 

once  admit  the  sophism  that  a  system  must  be  good 
because  good  men  support  it,  where  will  it  land  us? 
Shall  I  tell  you  where,  dear,  intelligent  Christian  read- 
er? Into  the  days  when  so  many  good  people  believed 
religiously  in  hanging  witches,  and  if  pressed  hard  for 
a  reason  for  the  faith  that  was  in  them  could  have  given 
chapter  and  verse  in  support  of  their  sanguinary  creed 
with  refreshing  promptitude;  into  the  days  when  good 
Christian  judges  believed  that  the  prison,  the  scourge 
and  the  pillory  were  means  of  grace  for  enlightening 
the  blind  consciences  of  heretic  Quakers;  into  the  days 
when  so  many  «-ood  people,  North  and  South,  upheld 
the  system  of  human  slavery,  and  wished  reformers 
would  stop  all  this  disagreeable  agitaiion,  all  this  un- 
pleasant talk  about  u  coining  the  heart's  blood  of  the 
oppressed — it  was  so  much  better  to  let  disagreeable 
subjects  alone!"  0  my  Christian  brother, 0  my  Chris- 
tian sister,  shame  not  the  thinking  mind  and  noble 
heart.  God  has  given  you  by  any  such  fallacious  reason- 
ing! Accept  like  honest  men  and  women  this  one 
square  issue.  Either  Masonry  is  right  or  it  is  wrong. 
Either  it  is  a  false  religion  or  the  true  one — a  worship 
of  God  or  a  worship  of  devils.  Is  indifference  to  it 
compatible  with  loyalty  to  Christ?  Can  you  be  truly 
his  yet  care  not  whether  he  reigns  over  the  world  or 
anti-Christ?  There  are  good  men  in  the  lodge — poor, 
hoodwinked,  cable-towed  victims — Sampson-like  shorn 
of  their  strength,  and  made  to  grind  in  the  prison- 
house  of  a  secret,  oath-bound  organization.  But  these 
good  men  would  come  out  of  it  by  scores  and  by 
hundreds,  walking  open-eyed  and  unfettered  in  the  full 
strength  of  their  Christian  manhood,  if  you  bore  your 
faithful  testimony  against  it;  if  you  refuse  to  fellow- 


SILENT    ANTIMASONS.  223 

ship  Masonry  in  your  churches  or  tolerate  Masonic 
pastors  in  your  pulpits. 

Which  reminds  me  that  I  have  another  word  to  say 
to  a  certain  class  of  Christian  ministers  "  who  never 
were  Masons,  and  don't  believe  in  secret  societies." 

"  My  dear  sir,  1  am  glad  to  know  that  you  have  such 
decided  views  of  the  evils  of  secretism.  Of  course  you 
sometimes  preach  on  this  subject  from  the  pulpit?" 

u  0,  no.  In  fact  it  wouldn't  do.  I  have  two  or  three 
Masons  in  my  church  and  quite  a  sprinkling  of  Odd- 
fellows and  other  secret  society  men,  and  I  should  only 
stir  up  a  rumpus  and  perhaps  split  the  church.  Be- 
sides I  am  set  to  preach  the  gospel,  not  Masonry  or 
Anti-masonry." 

u  But  Christ  preached  against  the  corrupt  doctrines 
of  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees.  St.  Paul  preached  against 
idolatry,  Luther  against  the  sale  of  indulgences.  Didn't 
Christ  and  Paul  and  Luther  preach  the  gospel ?  And 
you  yourself,  if  I  am  not  greatly  mistaken,  have  been 
known  to  allude  more  than  once  in  your  pulpit  dis- 
courses to  the  sin  of  intemperance." 

"  Ah,  well,  that  is  a  safe  subject.  It  can't  stir  np 
strife  nor  hurt  my  influence  as  a  public  discussion  ofc- 
Masonry  would  be  sure  to  do.  A  pastor  must  be  care- 
ful not  to  give  unnecessary  offence,  and  so  hurt  the 
cause  of  Christ.  I  trust  you  understand  me." 

"  My  dear  sir,  I  understand  you  perfectly.  A  certain 
old  Hebrew  prophet  and  reformer  who  was  never  afraid 
of  hurting  his  influence  by  denouncing  popular  sins, 
has  welF  described  what  the  cowardly,  time-serving 
pastor,  too  fearful  of  his  bread  and  butter  interests  to 
wage  any  warfare  against  those  same  unpopular  sins  does 
not  do,  l  Ye  have  not  gone  up  into  the  gaps,  neither 


224  HOLDEN  WITH  CORDS. 

made  up  the  hedge  for  the  house  of  Israel  to  stand  in 
the  battle  in  the  day  of  the  Lord.'  Shame  on  such 
hireling  shepherds  fc  who  daub  the  walls  of  Zion  with 
untempered  mortar!'  It  may  be  more  tolerable  in  the 
day  of  Judgment  for  men  like  Elder  Gushing,  who, 
blinded  by  their  fanatical  zeal  for  the  lodge,  committed 
the  sin  of  Cain,  than  for  you  who  acknowledge  Masonry 
to  be  an  evil  yet  will  not  lift  up  your  voice  when  you 
see  the  sword  coming." 

Mark  Stedman,  since  his  renunciation  of  the  lodge, 
had  gone  contentedly  back  to  the  most  common 
drudgery  of  the  farm,  but  that  strange  peace  and  joy 
which  he  had  so  vainly  sought  in  the  puerile  traditions 
of  men  overflowed  his  soul  like  a  river  when  all  the 
windows  of  heaven  are  opened,  and  bank  and  dyke  are 
powerless  to  keep  in  the  swelling  waters.  And  it  was 
no  surprise  to  us  when  a  proposal  came  to  him  to 
preach.  Mark  after  thinking  and  praying  over  it  for 
one  whole  day  as  he  chopped  the  wood  and  fed  the  cattle, 
chose  his  life  work — to  be  a  poor  circuit  preacher  not 
always  knowing  where  his  daily  bread  should  come 
from;  and  only  sure  of  two  things:  poverty  and  the 
qpntempt  of  the  world,  on  all  whose  honors  and  pre- 
ferments he  was  now  turning  his  back. 

But  poor  Rachel  seemed  to  profit  but  little  from  the 
spiritual  help  Mark  was  so  eager  to  proffer  her.  There 
sometimes  are  souls  that  in  their  vain  struggles  after 
spiritual  light  and  liberty  are  like  birds  that  fly  into  a 
room  and  beat  blindly  against  the  windows  when  all 
the  while  the  door  stands  open.  The  kindest  endeavors 
to  help  them  find  their  way  out  only  adds  to  their  be- 
wilderment. 

I  have  already  mentioned  that  a  peculiar  attachment 


GRANDFATHER   AND   RACHEL.  225 

existed  between  my  grandfather  and  Rachel.  One  day 
she  was  sitting  by  his  side.  His  great  print  Bible  lay 
open  on  his  knee,  but  he  was  not  reading.  With 
spectacles  pushed  back  he  was  gazing  fondly  on.  the 
tiny  two-month's-old  who  represented  his  name  and 
line  in  the  fourth  generation,  but  whose  advent  I  have 
hitherto  neglected  to  chronicle. 

"  I  don't  know,  Rachel,  as  you  ought  to  have  given 
him  my  name,"  he  said,  finally.  u  David  is  so  old- 
fashioned.  You  might  have  found  one  prettier.'' 

44 1  don't  care  for  that,"  answered  Rachel,  promptly. 
"  I  want  my  boy  to  bear  the  name  of  a  good  man  and 
grow  up  like  him.  And  I  always  fancied  David.  There 
is  something  so  strong  and  brave  in  the  sound.  Who 
knows  what  Goliath  my  boy  may  have  to  fight  when 
he  grows  up." 

u  That  is  true,"  said  my  grandfather,  gently. 

41  And  I  want  to  train  him  right,"  continued  Rachel., 
41 1  am  afraid  I  shall  make  mistakes.  If  I  was  only  a 
Christian  I  should  know  how." 

u  But, Rachel,  why  ain't  you  one?"  asked  my  grand- 
father. 44  There  is  Mark,  now;  I  never  saw  anything 
like  the  boy.  It  almost  seems  as  if  he  had  seen  the 
Lord  face  to  face  just  to  hear  him  get  up  and  pray." 

"  Mark  is  so  different  from  me.  He  could  always 
understand  and  enjoy  things  in  books  that  I  never 
could.  And  it  is  just  so  in  religion.  When  he  talks 
to  me  I  feel  as  though  he  was  standing  on  a  ladder  of 
sunbeams  and  calling  to  me  to  come  up.  I  see  no 
earthly  way  of  getting  to  the  top.  Now  Leander  and 
I  would  understand  each  other  better  I  think,  but  there 
is  another  thing.  When  Leander  went  to  the  lodge 
that  seemed  to  shut  us  off  from  talking  about  religion 


226  HOLDER  WITH  COEDS. 

to  each  other.  It  seemed  as  if  he  was  seeking  salvation 
one  way  and  I  another.  So  the  wall  kept  growing 
higher.  I've  seen  the  same  thing  in  other  women. 
They  go  to  the  prayer-meeting  and  their  husbands  go 
to  the  lodge.  How  can  they  sit  down  together  and 
talk  of  their  spiritual  interests?  But  I  don't  want  to 
blame  Leander;  he  never  meant  to  make  it  any  harder 
for  me.  And  if  I  had  been  the  right  sort  of  woman  I 
never  should  have  let  such  a  little  thing  hinder  me. 
But  it  must  be  I  am  not  one  of  the  elect.  If  I  was  I 
should  have  been  a  Christian  before  this." 

And  poor  Rachel,  who  felt  that  Mark's  call  to  the 
ministry  was  only  another  proof  that  the  same  in- 
scrutable will,  which  had  made  him  a  chosen  vessel  of 
grace,  had  only  doomed  her  to"be  an  heir  of  destruction, 
sighed  as  if  the  end  of  the  matter  was  reached. 

u  Rachel,"  answered  my  grandfather,  seriously,  "  I 
am  a  poor,  unprofitable  servant,  not  fit  to  teach  the 
way  of  life  to  anybody;  but  my  Bible  tells  me  that  the 
blood  of.  Jesus  Christ  cleanseth  from  all  sin,  and  1  be- 
lieve what  it  says.  Now  the  way  I  feel  about  Mark  is 
that  the  Lord  is  separating  him  to  a  special  work,  and 
that  is  why  he  is  filling  him  so  full  of  grace  beforehand. 
He'll  need  it  all  before  he  gets  through.  But  the  free 
gift  is  for  you  and  me  just  as  much  as  for  Mark.  God 
makes  his  sun  and  rain  to  come  down  as  freely  on  a 
blade  of  grass  as  on  the  tallest  oak.  And  so  I  take  this 
gift—this  unspeakable  gift,  just  as  I  take  my  daily 
bread,  without  asking  any  questions  whether  Pm  elect- 
ed or  not.  I  do  as  David  did.  I  take  the  cup  of  salva- 
tion and  call  on  the  name  of  the  Lord.  0  it's  just 
wonderful,  this  free  gift  to  poor  sinners  like  you  and 
me,  Rachel!'" 


HE  GIVETH   HIS  BELOVED  SLEEP.  227 

Rachel  had  listened  with  a  new  light  dawning  in  her 
eyes  which  finally  spread  all  over  her  face  like  the  sun 
new  risen 

u  I'll  try  your  way,"  she  said,  slowly.  "  Somehow  it 
seems  common  sense.  I  can  understand  it."- 

And  then  she  put  on  her  shawl  and  bonnet,  kissed 
my  grandfather  and  tripped 'home.  But  that  night  she 
sang  snatches  of  hymns  over  her  baby's  cradle;  she 
sang  when  she  was  getting  tea  and  moulding  biscuit; 
and  the  light  did  not  leave  her  face.  It  never  has  left 
it,  it  never  will;  for  it  was  the  peace  which  passeth  all 
understanding. 

In  the  hours  of  the  early  morning  between  two  and 
three  there  came  a  knock  at  our  door.  It  was  Joe. 

"  Come  over,  quick,  Leander,"  he  said, "  Grandfather 
is  dying  /" 

Quickly  as  Rachel  and  I  obeyed  the  summons  Joe's 
words  were  all  too  true.  The  shadowing  presence  of 
the  dark  angel  had  gone  before  us  and  filled  all  the 
hushed  silent  room  as  we  entered  it. 

He  lay  breathing  heavily,  but  smiled  on  us  both, 
though  it  was  on  Rachel  that  his  eyes  slowly  filming 
over  with  the  mist  of  death,  rested  with  the  tenderest, 
longest  gaze. 

His  lips  moved  as  she  knelt  weeping  by  the  bedside, 
and  we  just  caught  the  low  accents — Huldah.  It  was 
the  name  borne  by  the  beloved  wife  of  his  youth,  and 
in  that  hour  of  near  reunion,  with  the  shores  of  time 
fading  away,  and  all  the  eternal  realities  of  the  unseen 
world  ready  to  burst  on  his  vision,  he  blended  the  sight 
of  one  with  the  memory  of  the  other. 

Joe  had  gone  for  the  doctor.  But  his  face  when  he 
inspired  us  with  no  hope.  He  asked  a  few  ques- 


228  HOLDER  WITH  CORDS. 

tions,  then  took  a  seat  in  silence  as  powerless  as  any  of 
us  in  the  dread  presence  of.  death. 

The  sun  was  rising  when  my  grandfather  passed 
away.  He  had  been  lying  very  quiet.  Then  all  at 
once  a  strange  rapt  look  came  into  his  face.  Who  did 
he  see,  in  that  last  solemn  moment  when  the  veil  was 
rending  which  hid  all  that  wonder  of  gold  and  jasper 
and  emerald,  of  white-robed  multitudes  and  harping 
choirs  from  his  view? 

'•  Who  shall  separate  us?  Who  shall  separate  us?" 
he  whispered.  And  then  a  few  deep  breaths,  and  my 
grandfather  wzs  where  in  truth  nothing  should  or 
could  separate  him  from  his  Lord  and  Savior.  No  lodge 
with  its  man-miade  traditions,  its  false  worship,  its  anti- 
Christian  rites,  to  come  between  and  make  his  love  wax 
cold.  As  a  bird  from  the  snare  of  the  fowler  he  had 

escaped — into  the  free,  immortal  air  of  heaven.  ' 
******* 

"Leander,"  said  Mark,  as  we  stood  looking  sadly 
down  on  the  dear,  familiar  face  settled  to  its  last  long 
sleep,  "  I  can't  help  feeling  glad  that  he  is  now  out  of 
the  reach  of  slander  and  persecution.  The  lodge  would 
no  more  have  spared  his  gray  hairs,  after  he  had  re- 
nounced it  than  it  will  spare  us.  But  we  are  young 
and  strong  for  the  conflict,  while  he  was  old  and  feeble, 
and  it  would  have  broken  his  heart." 

I  could  not  speak  for  tears,  but  I  knew  that  Mark 
was  right.  My  grandfather  had  been  taken  from  the 
warfare  that  was  even  then  beginning;  a  slow,  insidi- 
ous, wearing  warfare— that  would  only  end  when  we 
laid  our  armor  down  forever. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

MOVING.— THE  MASONIC  u  OBLIGATION  "   REMOVED.— THE 
WARFARE   BEGINS. 

HOW  we  missed  him!  how  hard  it  was: 
to  keep  on  missing  him  every  day! — but, 
over  our  loss,  as  over  every  other  void 
that  death  makes,  flowed  the  cold,  re- 
morseless tide  of  plans  and  purposes  for 
the  morrow.  Miss  Loker  had  received  a 
pressing  call  from  a  lately  widowed  brother 
to  come  and  keep  his  house  for  him;  and  my 
mother,  in  her  invalid  state  of  health,  was  only 
too  glad  to  resign  all  her  household  cares  into  Rachel's 
hands,  while  I  took  my  grandfather's  place  as  head  of 
the  family.  So  Rachel  and  I  prepared  to  move  from 
the  little  home  he  had  built  and  furnished  for  us  with 
such  loving  care  scarcely  more  than  a  year  before, 
thinking,  doubtless,  as  we  ourselves  believed  and  hoped, 
that  with  his  hale,  hearty  frame,  a  long,  green  old  age 
might  yet  lay  before  him. 

"  He  took  such  pleasure  in  planning  it  for  us,"  said 
Rachel,  tearfully.  "  Even  that  end  window  he  had  put 
in  just  because  I  happened  to  say  that  I  always  wanted 
a  kitchen  to  have  the  morning  sun.  How  I  wish  Joe 
might  live  here  some  day." 


230  HOLDER  WITH   CORDS. 

"Joe  isn't  one  of  the  stay-at-home  sort.  By  the 
time  he  is  twenty-one  he'll  be  striking  out  for  himself 
in  Kentucky  or  Illinois." 

"  Then  Mark,  perhaps,  if  he  should  ever  get  married 
— and  I  suppose  he  will  some  time." 

But  any  thought  of  marriage  seemed  at  present  far 
from  Mark's  head,  which  I  privately  considered  was  a 
lucky  thing,  for  while  I  cherished  the  most  profound 
respect  for  his  talents  and  learning,  I  had  an  equally 
small  regard  for  Mark's  abilities  in  any  such  practical 
line  of  effort  as  the  supporting  of  a  family.  And  I 
only  smiled  at  Rachel's  last  suggestion. 

So  in  that  immutable  order  of  things  which  has  ever 
been  and  ever  will  be  while  the  human  generations 
come'  and  go,  new  hopes  blossomed  where  the  old  had 
perished,  and  one  morning  when  the  snow  lay  thick 
and  white  over  my  grandfather's  grave  I  took  his  place 
and  conducted  with  faltering  voice  the  family  worship, 

Rachel  had  told  me  the  whole  of  that  last  conversa- 
tion with  my  grandfather,  keeping  nothing  back.  The 
gentle  Quakeress  had  uttered  no  false  warning.  Un- 
wittingly I  had  put  a  stumbling  block  in  the  way  of 
Rachel's  salvation.  Instead  of  joining  her  in  her 
search  after  Him  who  is  not  far  from  any  one  of  us  I 
had  tried  to  satisfy  my  conscience  with  the  Christless 
prayers  and  rites  of  the  lodge.  But  now  we  were  in 
deed  and  in  truth  one — fellow  pilgrims  together  through 
a  troublous  world,  and  heirs  of  the  same  blessed  hope : 
a  far  more  eternal  and  exceeding  weight  of  glory  when 
we  both  should  pass  to  an  immortal  reunion  beyond 
the  veil. 

But  I  was  not  yet  entirely  free  from  the  lodge  fetters. 
Like  Mr.  Jedediah  Mills,  I  considered  that  "  an  oath 


THE  MASONIC   "OBLIGATION""   REMOVED.  231 

was  an  oath"  under  all  circumstances,  and  any  viola- 
tion thereof  a  crime  "  to  be  punished  by  the  judges." 
It  was  Rachel,  who,  with  her  clearer  understanding  of 
Scripture  truth,  gave  the  blow  that  finally  knocked 
apart  those  shackling  obligations  too  fully  and  com- 
pletely for  any  earthly  power  ever  to  clench  again. 

uLeander,"  she  said  suddenly  to  me  one  day,  "I 
thought  at  first  it  was  a  dreadful  thing  for  Captain 
Morgan  to  break  his  oath.  But  I  have  begun  to  think 
differently.  Now  listen  while  I  read  this  verse  in 
Leviticus,  fifth  chapter,  fourth  verse:  4  If  a  soul  swear, 
pronouncing  with  his  lips  to  do  evil  or  to  do  good, 
whatsoever  it  be  that  a  man  shall  pronounce  with  an 
oath,  and  it  be  hid  from  him,  when  he  knoweth  of  it, 
then  he  shall  be  guilty  in  one  of  these.  Then  it  goes 
on  to  tell  how  he  must  bring  a  trespass  offering  for 
his  sin.  Now  if  there  was  any  provision  made  under 
the  old  dispensation  for  rash  and  foolish  oaths  there 
must  be  under  the  new.  Masons  don't  know  what 
they  are  swearing  to  when  they  take  these  obligations, 
or  in  ninety-nine  cases  out  of  one  hundred  they 
wouldn't  take  them  at  all.  It  is  hid  from  them." 

44  But,  Rachel,"  I  said,  doubtfully. 4i  are  you  sure  that 
is  what  the  verse  means  ?" 

44  Well,  if  you  don't  believe  me,  come  and  read  Bag- 
ster's  explanation  of  it:  4  This  relates  to  rash  oaths 
or  vows  which  a  man  was  afterwards  unable,  or  which 
it  would  have  been  sinful  to  perform.'  I  hope  you  don't 
doubt  Bagster.  There  now,"  continued  Rachel,  tri- 
umphantly; 44what  can  be  clearer?  Shall  a  Christian 
keep  a  wicked  oath  that  wouldn't  have  been  binding 
even  on  a  Jew?" 

1  did  not  reply  at  once,  for  I  was  reading  the  verses 


232  HOLDEN"  WITH  CORDS. 

that  followed.  How  graciously  that  old  Levitical  law 
stooped  to  the  necessities  of  the  poorest.  u  He  shall 
bring  his  trespass  offering  unto  the  Lord,  a  lamb  or  a 
kid  of  the  goats  *  *  *  or  if  he  be  not  able  to  bring  a 
lamb  then  he  shall  bring  for  his  trespass  which  he  hath 
committed  two  turtle  doves  or  two  young  pigeons  *  *  * 
but  if  he  be  not  able  to  bring  two  turtle  doves  or  two 
young  pigeons,  then  he  that  hath  sinned  shall  bring 
for  his  offering  the  tenth  part  of  an  ephah  of  fine 
flour."  Should  the  blood  of  God's  eternal  Son  be  of 
less  efficacy  to  purge  my  conscience  from  the  guilt  of 
these  rash,  blasphemous  Masonic  vows?  To  this  day  I 
feel  the  thrill  of  recovered  freedom  that  tingled  through 
every  vein  when  I  read  that  old  Jewish  law,  and  real- 
ized that  once  more  I  was  a  man,  no  longer  a  cower- 
ing, shivering,  faltering  slave,  bound  with  the  self- 
forged  manacles  of  a  lodge  oath. 

Just  then  Mark  Stedman  came  in.  There  are  some 
natures  that  the  first  bugle  note  of  any  great  moral 
conflict  seem  to  rouse  instantly  to  action.  Like  the 
war  horse  of  Scripture,  pawing  in  the  valleys  and  re- 
joicing in  his  strength,  they  smell  the  battle  afar  off 
and  say,  ha!  ha!  to  the  sound  of  the  trumpet.  And 
Mark  Stedman  belonged  to  this  class  of  minds,  pre- 
destinated by  their  very  constitution  to  fill  the  ranks 
of  the  world's  martyr's  and  reformers. 

"  I  have  been  subprenaed  to  appear  at  the  next 
sitting  of  the  county  court  to  tell  what  I  know  about 
the  murder  of  Morgan,"  he  said,  as  he  stood  warming 
his  hands  at  the  fire.  "I  shall  start  early  to-mor- 
row morning.  It  really  looks  now  as  if  the  courts 
were  going  to  take  up  the  matter  vigorously;  and 
if  so  they  can't  help  finding  bills  of  indictment 


THE  WARFARE   BEGINS.  233 

against  some  of  the  leading  actors  in  this  outrageous 
business." 

"  But  what  is  the  use  of  indicting  if  they  don't  con- 
vict? I  wouldn't  snap  my  finger  for  any  chance  of 
conviction  with  a  Masonic  jury  to  sit  on  the  case. 
And  what  else  can  you  expect  but  a  packed  jury  when 
the  sheriff  who  summons  it  is  a  Mason?  Depend  upon 
it  the  Masonic  institution  will  shield  Morgan's  mur- 
derers to  the  uttermost.  I  am  not  enough  of  a  prophet 
to  say  what  the  final  outcome  will  be,  but  I  am  sure 
that  law  will  be  evaded  and  justice  hampered  in  every 
conceivable  way  to  clear  the  guilty  parties." 

"  I  know  that,"  answered  Mark,  "  but  I  believe  in 
the  final  triumph  of  right." 

u  So  do  1 — when  there  comes  that  grand  general 
settling  up  in  the  other  world,"  I  returned.  "  By  the 
way  I  saw  a  newspaper  paragraph  the  other  day  which 
convinced  me  that  the  father  of  lies  was  busy  at  his 
usual  occupation.  It  reported  that  Captain  Morgan 
had  been  seen  by  a  lately  returned  sailor  in  the  streets 
of  Smyrna,  disguised  as  a  Turk." 

u  As  though  anybody  would  be  fool  enough  to  believe 
such  a  silly  falsehood  I"1  said  Mark,  indignantly. 

"  There'll  be  plenty  to  believe  it.  Falsehood  is  the 
chief  engine  of  the  lodge.  But  here  comes  Joe  with  a 
letter — for  you,  Mark.'" 

Mark  tore  open  the  epistle,  gave  a  brief  glance  at 
Hie  contents  and  then  handed  it  to  me  with  a  smile  on 
his  grave,  resolute  young  face. 

"  You  see  the  fight  has  begun,  Leander." 

It  was  a  wretched  scrawl — for  the  writer  had  evi- 
dently tried  to  disguise  his  hand — threatening  Mark  in 
scurrilous  and  abusive  terms  and  ending  thus:  "  I  know 


234  HOLDER  WITH  COEDS. 

four  Royal  Arch  Masons  who  stand  ready  to  despatch 
you  as  a  traitor  against  the  most  heaventy  and  benefi- 
cent institution  on  earth.  ONE  OF  THE  FOUR." 

"  Quite  an  interesting  communication,  isn't  it?"  said 
Mark,  coolly;  "  but  not  the  first  I  have  received  of  like 
nature." 

"Mark,  you  must  go  armed.  You  ought  to  carry 
pistols." 

"No,  Leander.  I  have  thought  it  over,  but  the 
servant  of  the  Lord  must  not  strive.  Shall  1  rely  on 
an  arm  of  flesh  when  Jehovah  himself  has  promised  to 
be  my  shield?  Besides,jnen  who  will  take  the  time 
and  pains  to  write  anonymous  threats  are  usually  too 
cowardly  to  dare  do  anything  more.  Nothing  troubles 
me  about  these  letters  but  the  postage  on  them.  It  is 
rather  too  bad  to  have  to  pay  for  the  privilege  of  re- 
ceiving personal  abuse." 

"  Mark,'"  said  I,  finally,  u  You  are  not  going  to  start 
on  this  journey,  short  as  it  is,  alone.  I  shall  tell  Rachel 
that  I  really  want  to  hear  the  proceedings  of  the  court, 
which  is  the  truth.  And  having  none  of  your  con- 
scientious scruples  about  the  use  of  carnal  weapons,  I 
mean  to  go  armed  to  the  teeth.  If  anybody  meddles 
with  us  it  won't  be  for  their  health." 

Mark  demurred,  but  my  mind  was  made  up.  I  took 
Joe  into  confidence,  however,  for  since  our  grand- 
father's death  there  had  been  a  wonderful  change  in 
the  lad.  The  maturity  and  steadiness  of  manhood  was 
fast  replacing  his  boyish  thoughtlessness  and  mischief, 
and  I  knew  I  could  trust  him  not  only  to  keep  the  alarm 
I  felt  from  Rachel,  but  to  manage  matters  during  my 
brief  absence.  So  that  everything  was  in  readiness  for 
my  early  departure  with  Mark  the  next  morning-,  when 


THE   WABFARE   BEGINS .f  235 

just  as  the  candle  was  beginning  to  burn  low  in  the 
socket,  and  the  great  kitchen  clock  stood  on  the  stroke 
of  nine,  there  was  a  rap  at  the  door.  As  I  opened  it, 
to  my  inexpressible  surprise  the  light  fell  full  on  the 
familiar  features  of  Sam  Toller. 

u  Why, Sam!"  I  exclaimed.  u  Come  right  in.  How 
do  you  happen  to  be  in  Brownsville?" 

u  Wall, I'm  on  kinder  pressin'  business,"  said  Sam,  as 
with  weary,  foot-sore  tread  he  followed  me  into  the 
kitchen.  "  IVe  walked  a'most  from  Rochester  to  let  ye 
know  about  it.  The  Masons  have  laid  a  plan  to  kidnap 
Mark  Stedman  on  his  way  to  court  so  as  to  stop  his 
giving  testimony.1' 

u  How  did  you  find  out  about  it,  Sam?"  I  asked,  after 
a  moment's  silence. 

4>  Wall,  ye  see  the  way  of  it  was  I  overheard  acci- 
dentally enough  of  their  talk  to  make  me  suspicion 
that  they  were  up  to  some  mischief.  So  I  jest  steps  up 
to  'em  and  gives  'em  the  sign,  and  sez  I, l  I'm  yer  man, 
ready  to  do  anything  ye  set  me  to;  ready  to  shed  my 
last  drop  of  blood  in  defence  of  the  glorious  institu- 
tion of  Masonry!'  And  after  I  had  made  'em  think  by 
talking  in  that  way  awhile  they  could  make  a  tool  of 
me  easy,  I  found  out  what  they  were  up  to.  Their 
plans  are  all  cut  and  dried.  There's  a  lonesome  part  of 
the  road,  jest  the  other  side  of  Savin's  Bend  where 
he'll  have  to  walk  a  piece  if  he  goes  by  stage,  and  they 
calkerlate  to  waylay  him  there.  They'll  all  have  masks 
on,  so  it  can  never  be  known  who  they  be.  Wall,  I 
spoke  up  and  sez,  '  Gentlemen,  I  can  help  ye  in  this  ere 
business.  I  know  Mark  Sfcedman  and  he  knows  me; 
and  I  can  make  him  play  into  yer  hands  as  easy  as  a 
woodchuck  walks  into  a  trap.'  So  they  kinder  debated 


HOLDER  WITH   CORDS. 

over  it  awhile,  and  then  the  leader  sez  to  me,  '  The 

d d  villain's  mouth  has  got  to  be  stopped.  We'll 

pay  you  fair  for  the  job  if  you  undertake  it!'  So  we 
struck  a  bargain,  and  then  the  whole  party  of  us  went 
to  the  tavern  to  get  a  drink,  and  while  they  were  treat- 
ing each  other,  I  contrived  it  to  slip  oil  by  saying  I  had 
got  to  see  to  the  horses.  So  here  I  be.  Now  what's  to 
be  done  about  it." 

"  Sam,  you're  a  good  fellow,  worth  your  weight  in 
gold,"  said  I,  shaking  his  hand  with  a  fervor  of  grati- 
tude, as  1  realized  how  narrow  had  been  Mark's  escape. 
"But  I  don't  want  Rachel  to  know  anything  about 
this  at  present  And  Mark  need  not  be  told  of  it  till 
morning.  Then  we  can  take  counsel  together.  Do 
you  think  any  of  the  Brownsville  lodge  are  in  the  plot?" 

;t  I  don't  want  to  name  names  when  I  ain't  sartin," 
answered  Sam,  cautiously.  u  Them  that's  got  the  job 
on  hand  don't  belong  in  Brownsville.  But  1  tell  ye, 
Leander,  Masonry  is  as  full  of  long  arms  as  that  devil 
fish  Tim  Kendall  was  telling  about  seeing  when  he  was 
off  on  his  cruise.  They  keep  swaying  about  ready  to 
clutch  ye,  and  once  get  a  hold  they  never  let  go.  The 
only  way  to  do  when  they  grapple  a  man  is  to  chop  off 
its  arms  and  leave  a  part  of  the  critter  sticking  to  the 
flesh." 

Rachel  just  then  entered  with  that  smile  on  her  face 
which  only  mothers  wear  when  they  come  from  bend- 
ing over  the  rosy  leep  of  their  first  born.  Our  little 
David  was  growing  finely,  a  bright,  healthy  babe,  and 
we  were  as  proud  of  all  his  little  budding  infantile  ac- 
complishments as  most  young  parents  who  see  in  their 
eldest  darling  something  they  will  never  see  in  any 
child  later  born,  for  it  is  the  first  blossoming  of  their 


THE  WARFARE  BEGIKS.  237 

young  hopes— as  Scripture  puts  it,  uthe  beginning  of 
strength." 

She  started  at  seeing  Sam  quietly  domiciled  in  his 
favorite  corner,  but  it  had  been  a  family  prophecy  that 
u  we  should  see  Sam  Toller  back  some  day  when  we 
least  expected  it,  '  and  after  a  few  surprised  inquiries 
she  hastened  to  set  out  a  substantial  supper  of  cold 
meat,  brown  bread  and  cheese;  nor  did  she  hesitate  to 
cut  a  generous  triangle  of  mince*  pie,  to  all  of  which 
Sam  dH  justice  in  a  way  that  would  have  appalled  the 
dyspeptic  generation  of  the  present  day. 

But  Sain  seemed  to  miss  something.  His  eye  kept 
wandering  to  the  empty  arm-chair.  There  it  stood  in 
its  old  corner,  just  as  my  grandfather  left  it  the  night 
the  death  angel  summoned  him.  Even  his  Bible  lay 
on  the  stand  with  his  spectacles  beside,  for  Rachel,  with 
that  strange  clinging  of  soul  to  the  poor  mute  things 
its  beloved  will  never  again  need,  would  not  have  them 
put  away.  Then  he  said  hesitatingly — 

"  The  Captain— he's  well  I  hope.1' 

But  when  we  told  him  with  voices  broken  by  tears 
that  the  kindly  smile  had  vanished  forever,  and  the 
eyes  that  never  glanced  sternly  save  at  some  story  of 
wrong  and  oppression  would  beam  on  us  no  more — that 
the  Captain  had  reached  a  port  beyond  storm  and  ship- 
wreck— even  the  Eternal  City  of  our  God,  with  its 
pearly  gates,  its  golden  streets,  its  never  ceasing  fruit- 
age—Sain Toller  lifted  up  his  voice  and  wept  aloud. 


CHAPTER  XXVI 

THE   FALL   OF   1826.— OUR  JOURNEY. — FREEMASONRY  VS. 
JUSTICE. 

WILL  now  drop  the  thread  of  my  nar- 
rative to  give  a  brief  statement  of  the 
general  situation  a  few  months  after  the 
murder  of  Morgan,  lest  some  reader  find- 
ing history  so  silent  on  the  events  of 
those  thrilling  times  should  accuse  me  of  a 
tendency  to  romance.  Hitherto  Masonry 
had  held  her  own  unchallenged  by  church  or 
state,  bat  now  she  was  undergoing  a  meta- 
morphosis similar  to  that  of  the  fair  maiden  in  the 
witch  story  who  suddenly  turned  into  a  loathsome, 
wriggling  serpent.  But  her  power  was  nowise  abated. 
Though  she  could  no  longer  captivate  good  men  by  her 
harlot  beauty  she  could  intimidate  and  appall.  Under 
her  basilisk  eye  the  press  quailed  and  was  silent,  or 
sounded  false  notes  to  baffle  public  inquiry,  and  even 
the  majestic  Muse  of  History  succumbed  to  the  same 
withering  spell,  and  expunged  alike  from  the  ponder- 
ous tome  of  the  student  and  the  text-book  of  the 
school-boy  all  record  of  those  exciting  years  with  their 
far-reaching  political  effects,  their  strange  thwarting 
of  justice,  their  vivid  lights  and  shadows  of  personal 


THE  FALL   OF   1826.  239 

experience;  for  it  is  a  fact  that  many  a  Mason  who 
chose  to  obey  the  voice  of  conscience  rather  than  the 
mandates  of  the  lodge,  trembled  under  a  fear  of  its 
secret  vengeance,  and  rumor  told  of  more  than  one 
who  dared  not  stir  out  at  nightfall  for  dread  of  the 
assassin's  knife  at  his  throat. 

For  as  these  things  were  talked  over  in  store  and 
tavern,  and  round  the  kitchen  fire,  and  the  conviction 
gathered  force  that  Morgan  had  met  his  deuth  at  the 
hands  of  Masonic  executioners,  ugly  tales  began  to 
start  up.  Men  remembered  Smith,  of  Vermont,  who 
undertook  to  republish  Jachinand  Boazin  this  country 
and  was  believed  to  have  shared  the  fate  of  its  original 
author,  as  well  as  Murdock  of  Rensselaerville,  New 
York,  who  likewise  rendered  himself  obnoxious  to  the 
lodge  by  an  attempt  to  betray  the  secrets  and  was 
found  mysteriously  murdered  soon  after.  It  was  there- 
fore no  wonder  that  my  fears  had  been  seriously  excit- 
ed for  Mark's  safety  before  they  were  so  disagreeably 
confirmed  by  Sam  Toller's  tidings  of  the  plot  against 
him ;  no  wonder  that  I  passed  a  sleepless  night  thinking 
of  his  peril,  and  vainly  trying  to  answer  Sam's  inquiry: 
"  What  is  to  be  done  about  it?"  But  a  strong,  brave 
soul  that  has  cast  out  of  its  calculations  every  factor 
of  self-interest,  fully  resolved  to  follow  truth  wherever 
she  may  lead,  even  to  martyrdom  if  so  be,  has  a  won- 
derfully direct  way  of  settling  all  such  difficulties. 

"My  duty  is  plain,  Leander,"  was  Mark's  answer, 
when  I  communicated  to  him  his  danger  the  next 
morning.  "  I  must  tell  what  I  know,  but  I  shall  cer- 
tainly give  good  heed  to  Sam's  warning.  I  shall  take 
one  of  the  farm  horses,  and  by  making  a  detour  from 
the  direct  road  both  in  going  and  coining  foil,  as  I 


240  HOLDEK  WITH  CORDS. 

trust,  all  their  plans.  But  I  must  go  alone.  Nobody 
shall  be  involved  in  any  risk  that  I  may  run." 

But  my  resolution  was  unshaken  to  accompany 
Mark.  I  could  not  let  my  chosen  friend  from  boyhood, 
Rachel's  brother  and  mine,  take  the  perilous  trip  alone. 
And  we  accordingly  set  out  under  circumstances  that 
recalled  with  curious  vividness  to  my  mind  the  memory 
of  another  journey — a  vision  of  dim,  silent  woods,  with 
the  same  unseen  foe  lurking  in  my  track — the  same 
that  betrayed  me  at  the  Stover's  cabin,  that  struck  me 
down  without  warning  and  left  me  for  dead  under  the 
covering  veil  of  solitude  and  night. 

u  I  never  thought  it  was  going  to  turn  out  such  a 
lucky  thing  for  you,  Mark,  when  I  taught  Sam  the 
grips  and  signs,"  said  Joe,  slyly,  as  we  were  about  to 
ride  off.  For  he  alone  of  all  the  family  had  been  told 
the  latter's  real  errand  to  Brownsville. 

"  So  you  initiated  Sam  Toller,"  said  Mark,  with  a 
quiet  smile.  "  I  have  always  rather  suspected  that  was 
the  way  of  it.  But  don't  you  ever  intend  to  let  us  into 
your  secret." 

"Well,  that  depends"  answered  Joe,  coolly,  u  on 
how  a  certain  individual,  who  shall  be  nameless  at 
present,  minds  his  ps  and  qs." 

And  with  one  glance  backward  at  Rachel  as  she 
stood  smiling  her  farewells  in  the  open  door-way,  and 
a  furtive  look  at  my  pistols  to  see  that  they  were  in 
order  I  rode  on  after  Mark.  And  thus  like  two  pal- 
ladins  of  old,  with  this  notable  exception  that  they 
met  their  giants  and  fire-breathing  dragons  in  fair,  open 
fight,  while  our  enemy  was  a  snake  lurking  in  ambush, 
whose  deadly  presence  could  only  be  known  when  we 
felt  its  fangs,  we  set  forth  for  Ontario  court  house. 


OUR  JOURNEY. 

"  It  is  my  belief  that  the  lodge  in  Brownsville  has 
something  to  do  with  this  plot  against  you,  Mark,r 
said  I,  during  one  of  the  brief  intervals  when  we  al- 
lowed our  horses  to  indulge  in  a  walk. 

"Very  likely,"  was  Mark's  quiet  reply.  uAnd  a 
lodge  fifty  miles  away  may  feel  just  as  much  interest  to 
suppress  my  testimony.  Masonry  is  not  only  a  com- 
plete despotism,  but  it  is  a  perfectly  organized  system, 
and  under  it  men  are  like  figures  on  a  checker-board, 
with  neither  will  nor  volition  of  their  own  except  as 
the  lodge  may  choose  to  handle  them.  Nothing  shows 
so  much  the  terrible  power  of  the  institution  as  the 
fact  that  men  who  had  never  seen  each  other's  faces  or 
heard  each  others  names,  who  were  separated  by  long 
distances  and  could  not  possibly  have  held  any  personal 
communication  with  each  other  acted  in  perfect  con- 
cert in  this  matter  of  the  murder  of  Morgan." 

"  I  wonder  who  that  man  could  have  been  who  mis- 
took  me  for  one  of  his  fellow  plotters  when  I  was 
coming  down  on  the  canal  boat  last  fall.  I  shall  al- 
ways think  he  was  the  one  who  made  the  attempt  to 
burn  Miller's  printing  office  that  Sunday  night  when  I 
was  stopping  at  the  Park  Tavern." 

'  "You  are  right,  Leander,"  said  Mark.  '"  That  man 
lurking  in  the  shadow  of  the  stairway  was  Richard 
Howard,  a  Knight  Templar,  one  of  the  chief  conspira- 
tors against  Morgan,  and  one  that  drew  the  lot  to  mur- 
der him.  He  was  then  acting  in  concert  with  Daniel 
Johns,  the  spy  from  Canada,  who  wormed  himself  into 
the  confidence  of  Morgan  and  Miller,  and  by  abscond- 
ing with  the  Chapter  degrees  a  few  nights  before  his 
abduction,  made,  as  the  fraternity  then  supposed,  a 
fatal  break  in  the  publishing  of  the  work.  But  I  un- 


242  HOLDEN  WITH  CORDS. 

derstand  that  Morgan  kept  duplicate  copies  of  the 
three  first  degrees,  which  were  taken  from  him  under 
cover  of  a  civil  process  in  August  last,  and  that  they 
are  now  in  the  hands  of  Colonel  Miller  all  ready  for 
issue  from  the  press.  If  these  things  are  so  Blue  Lodge 
Masonry  will  soon  be  published  to  the  world." 

"  Mark,"  said  I,  solemnly,  u  I  believe  this  cursed  in- 
stitution killed  my  grandfather.  That  long,  inward 
struggle  wore  his  life  away.  I  am  glad  Colonel  Miller 
is  brave  and  patriotic  enough  to  go  on  and  publish,  and 
may  it  prove  a  final  death-blow  to  the  lodge." 

"  The  end  is  not  yet,  Leander,"  said  Mark,  signifi- 
cantly. "  The  institution  whose  secret  plottings  made 
the  streets  of  Paris  run  red  with  blood  in  1789,  whose 
subtle  schemings  undermined  the  power  of  the  Puritan 
party  in  England,  and  placed  Charles  II.  on  the  throne, 
will  not  down  without  a  fierce  struggle.  And  it  will 
be  a  struggle  between  light  and  darkness;  between  the 
liberty  our  fathers  crossed  the  seas  to  win  and  old  world 
despotisms;  between  Christ  and  anti-Christ.  I  think  I 
see  it  dimly  shadowed  forth  in  Revelation  where  John 
says — ;  And  I  saw  the  beast  and  the  kings  of  the  earth 
and  their  armies  gathered  together  to  make  war  against 
him  that  sat  on  the  horse  and  against  his  army.'  It 
may  not  come  in  this  generation.  Other  issues  may 
rise  and  stave  it  off  for  awhile,  but  come  some  time  it 
surely  will." 

"  But  what  do  you  think  the  beast  represents  ?  Papal 
Rome?" 

"  Papal  Rome,  you  remember,  is  the  woman  who  sits 
on  the  beast.  How  can  the  two  be  identical  ?  To  my 
mind  the  beast  rising  out  of  the  sea  is  the  old  Roman 
Empire,  savage,  cruel,  despotic,  so  that  '  the  image  of 


OUR  JOURNEY.  243 

the  beast '  must  refer  to  some  organization  of  modern 
times  which  reproduces  its  spirit  and  character.  And 
what  is  more  like  it  than  Freemasonry,  with  her  aim  at 
universal  empire,  her  despotic  government  and  savage 
laws,  her  Baal  worship,  her  hatred  and  contempt  of 
Christ's  name.  No  parallel  could  be  plainer." 

I  always  liked  to  hear  Mark  talk  even  when  1  did  not 
understand  him,  or  was  disposed  to  think  him  mystical. 
For  his  mind  had  that  rare  balance  of  faculties — on  the 
one  side  the  logical  and  on  the  other  the  poetical— 
which  seems  necessary  to  the  full  enjoyment  and  un- 
derstanding of  that  strange  book  of  Revelation.  In 
pondering  over  its  wondrous  imagery,  its  panorama  of 
ceaseless  conflict  with  the  dragon  forces  of  evil,  Mark 
felt  his  own  earnest,  intense  nature  kindle  into  a  new 
zeal  and  fervor,  while  for  the  outward  poverty  and 
bareness  of  his  life  the  Apocalyptic  splendors  of  the 
New  Jerusalem,  with  its  glorified  inhabitants,  its  end- 
less chants  of  victory,  its  perfect  freedom  from  all  that 
can  vex  and  annoy,  was  the  same  that  it  has  been  to 
God's  sorely  tried  ones  in  all  ages,  a  glorious  "  recom- 
pence  of  reward." 

It  was  expected  that  bills  of  indictment  would  be 
found  at  this  sitting  of  the  court  against  some  of  the 
chief  actors  in  the  terrible  tragedy,  as  a  number  of 
witnesses  were  to  be  examined,  some  of  whom  were 
supposed  to  have  important  testimony,  and  thus  a  more 
than  ordinary  interest  had  been  excited.  But  several 
curious  circumstances  attended  the  sitting  of  this  court 
of  law. 

"  They  may  question  and  cross  question  till  they're 
gray;  they  won't  get  the  truth  out  of  witnesses  that 
are  bound  not  to  tell^"  remarked  one  of  those  obligingly 


244  HOLDER  WITH  CORDS. 

communicative  individuals  who  are  as  ready  to  dispense 
information  as  a  spring  to  send  forth  its  waters.  u  Now 
that  last  chap  that  was  on  the  witness  stand,  he  knew 
all  about  their  taking  off  Morgan,  and  he  perjured  him- 
self when  he  swore  he  didn't.  In  my  opinion  there's 
been  an  agreement  beforehand  among  a  good  many  of 
the  witnesses  not  to  know  anything  worth  telling. 
Things  look  suspicious  when  a  man  comes  into  court 
and  swears  to  tell  the  truth,  the  whole  truth  and  noth- 
ing but  the  truth,  and  has  his  counsel  all  the  while 
by  his  side  to  advise  him  when  to  answer  and  when 
not." 

"  That's  a  fact,''  pronounced  another  in  the  group, 
for  this  conversation  took  place  during  an  adjournment 
of  the  court,  when  tongues  wagged  in  busy  and  not 
over  favorable  comment  on  these  palpable  obstructions 
thus  laid  in  the  way  of  justice. 

u  Well,  now,"  went  on  the  first  speaker,  "  my  brother 
was  witness  once  in  a  trial  for  murder,  and  he's  told 
me  that  he  see  Masonic  signs  pass  bet  wen  the  prisoner 
and  his  counsel  and  members  of  the  jury.  And  the 
upshot  of  the  matter  was  the  man  was  never  convicted 
— hain't  been  to  this  day — though  nobody  had  the  least 
doubt  of  his  guilt.  Talk  of  Morgan's  being  alive! 
They'd  better  tell  that  to  the  marines.  If  Morgan  is 
alive  why  don't  they  produce  him  and  stop  all  this 
fuss?" 

"  That's  hitting  the  nail  on  the  head  square,"  assented 
another  with  an  approving  nod.  "  But  some  of  the 
come-outers  are  going  to  testify  this  afternoon.  Them 
are  the  ones  I  want  to  hear,  especially  that  young 
Stedman.  They  say  he's  going  to  be  a  hard  witness 
agin  'em." 


FBEEMASONRY  VS.   JUSTICE.  N  245 

And  a  hard  witness  Mark  Stedman  proved  himself, 
but  no  harder  than  one  or  two  others,  among  whom 
was  Mr  Samuel  D.  Greene,  our  old  friend  of  the  Park 
Tavern.  His  part  in  the  dark  and  terrible  drama  was 
now  fully  revealed,  for  the  unknown  divulger  of  Ma- 
sonry's murderous  plottings,  the  man  who  nobly  dared 
to  stand  in  the  breach  and  warn  its  defenseless  victims 
of  their  danger,  who  would  have  saved  Morgan  if  the 
public  apathy  had  not  refused  to  believe  such  things 
possible,  and  who  did  save  Miller  by  finally  rousing  a 
band  of  citizens  to  start  in  pursuit  of  his  abductors,  was 
one  with  that  grave,  silent  inn-keeper,  who  had  moved 
so  quietly  about  among  his  guests  during  those  memora- 
ble days  in  Batavia. 

I  remember  how  he  looked  standing  there  in  the  old 
court  room  in  the  prime  of  his  manhood,  his  strong, 
squarely  built  frame  telling  of  generations  of  sturdy 
yeoman  ancestry,  as  well  as  I \emember  him  half  a 
century  later  when  the  waves  of  Masonic  hate  in  every 
conceivable  shape  and  form  had  dashed  over  him  and 
left  him — grand,  heroic  old  man  that  he  was,  unmoved 
at  his  post  and  penning  such  words  as  these — 
r~  u  I  am  an  old  man  and  I  shall  soon  be  gone,  but  I 
leave  it  as  my  last  injunction  to  my  countrymen  that 
they  watch  this  institution  with  a  jealous  eye.  It  is 
an  enemy  to  their  liberties.  It  has  no  thought  of  the 
general  good.  It  is  not  founded  and  worked  upon  any 
such  idea.  It  is  built  upon  the  principle  of  tyranny  in 
all  ages — the  good  of  the  few  at  the  expense  of  the  many^J 

As  he  unfolded  the  whole  history,  the  secret  plans  of 
the  lodge  and  his  own  efforts  to  baffle  them;  as  in  clear^ 
unvarnished  language  his  scathing  testimony  branded 
mimes  before  unimpeached  for  respectability  with  the 


246  HOLDER  WITH  COEDS. 

murderer's  stigma,  a  shiver  went  through  the  court 
room.  rSten  looked  in  each  other's  eyes  questioning  if 
it  were  possible  that  under  all  our  free  institutions  lay 
a  quaking  Vesuvius  ready  to  overwhelm  and  destroy 
the  right  purchased  so  dearly  for  every  American  citi- 
zen to  kt  life,  liberty  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness^ 

Mark's  testimony,  in  spite  of  the  efforts  made  by  the 
counsel  on  the  other  side  to  shake  it,  was  full,  clear  and 
convincing.  Legal  cunning,  with  all  its  artifices,  was 
no  match  for  simple  truth.  And  when,  as  the  last 
weapon  in  a  closing  fight  he  sneeringly  asked  if  all  the 
information  Mark  had  been  detailing  was  communicated 
to  him  Masonically,  the  venomed  point  of  the  inquiry 
— which  was  plainly  to  prejudice  the  minds  of  the  jury 
by  holding  him  up  as  a  foresworn  witness  revealing  se- 
crets he  had  been  solemnly  pledged  to  keep — was  so 
palpably  evident  that  it  met  with  a  prompt  over-ruling 
from  the  court  as  irrel^ant  to  the  case.  But  he  was  a 
wily  lawyer;  as  people  said  of  him,  a  udeep  fellow," 
and  as  after  developments  showed  had  been  given  an 
immense  fee  by  the  lodge  to  clear  Morgan's  murderers. 
And  in  his  closing  address  to  the  jury  he  made  free  use 
of  those  weapon  s*of  falsehood  and  innuendo  so  popular 
with  the  institution  which  had  chosen  him  to  defend 
her  from  the  serious  charges  of  kidnapping  and  murder. 

He  cautioned  them  not  to  be  influenced  by  the  ex- 
citement then  prevailing — an  excitement  he  assured 
them  u  got  up  by  ambitious  demagogues  to  serve  then- 
own  political  ends."  Language  that  received  its  proper 
rebuke  from  the  Judge  in  his  address  from  the  bench. 
In  grave  and  dignified  words  he  portrayed  the  aggra- 
vated nature  of  the  outrage  committed,  and  then 
alluded  to  the  spirit  of  indignation  which  it  had  excited 


FREEMASONRY  VS.   JUSTICE.  247 

in  the  breast  of  every  patriotic  citizen  "as  a  blessed 
spirit  which  he  hoped  would  not  subside  but  be  ac- 
companied by  a  ceaseless  vigilance  and  untiring  activity 
until  every  actor  in  the  conspiracy  had  been  hunted 
from  his  hiding  place  and  received  the  punishment  due 
to  his  crime." 

Well,  it  is  all  over  now.  Judge,  jury  and  counsel 
have  gone  to  their  final  reward.  That  same  Judge, 
afterwards  Governor  of  New  York,  sullied  his  bright 
record,  and  from  the  Governor's  chair  bowed  to  the 
Masonic  power  which  he  had  battled  with  from  the 
bench.  As  for  the  lawyer  who,  Judas-like,  betrayed 
the  truth  for  gold,  an  avenging  Nemesis  followed  in 
his  track.  God  hath  requited  him. 

"  I  believe  things  are  in  train  now  for  a  speedy  fer- 
reting out  of  Morgan's  murderers,"  said  Mark,*  hope- 
fully, as  we  turned  our  heads  homeward.  If  so  terrible 
a  crime  goes  unpunished  after  so  many  of  its  details 
have  been  laid  bare  and  so  great  an  excitement  has 
been  created  it  will  be  something  new  in  the  annals  of 
justice. 

Could  we  have  foreseen  that  four  long  years  would 
drag  away  while  case  after  case  was  tried  before  Mason- 
ic grand  juries  which  failed  to  convict  on  the  clearest 
evidence;  that  witnesses  would  be  secreted,  bribed, 
threatened;  that  even  the  Chief  Executive  of  the  State 
would  be  corrupted,  and  confidential  communications 
exposed  to  the  gaze  of  the  lodge,  thus  thwarting  every 
design  to  arrest  the  murderers;  that  in  short  the  shield 
of  a  vast,  secret,  irresponsible  power  would  always  in- 
terpose at  the  most  critical  moment  between  them  and 
the  sword  of  justice;  and  furthermore,  could  we  have 
known  as  lodge  after  lodge  surrendered  its  charter,  and 


248  HOLDER   WITH   CORDS. 

the  whole  dark  system  seemed  to  be  in  its  last  death 
throes,  it  was  only  feigning  to  die,  that  the  popular 
attention  turned  to  another  question  it  might  recuper- 
ate its  strength,  and  under  a  hundred  protean  disguises 
secretly  and  silently  seize  the  places  of  public  trust, 
muzzle  press  and  pulpit,  and  cause  even  the  watchmen 
of  Zion  to  be  dumb  dogs — what  should  we  have 
thought?  what  should  we  have  said? 

But  it  was  well  that  we  did  not  foresee  the  future; 
that,  as  we  rode  homeward,  urging  our  horses  to  a 
swifter  gallop  as  the  shadows  of  night  fell  darkling 
around  us,  we  believed  that  the  end  was  near,  or  our 
hearts  might  have  sunk  within  us  at  the  seeming  hope- 
less nature  of  such  a  struggle  with  such  a  foe. 

Mark  Stedman  had  escaped  for  this  time  the  trap  laid 
for  his/eet,  and  the  only  resource  for  his  baffled  ene- 
mies of  the  lodge  was  to  plan  some  other  and  subtler 
scheme — if  they  dared. 

But  would  they  dare?    We  shall  see. 


.  * 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 


THE    SWORD    OF     DAMOCLES. 


my  private  papers  is  one  yellow^ 
time-stained  document  which  reads  as 
follows: 

November  30th,  18-26. 
BKOWKSVILLE  LODGE,  No.  -  . 

Brother  Leandar  Severns:—  Whereas  sundry  charges 
have  been  preferred  against  you  of  un-Masonic  conduct  in  false- 
ly accusing  brother  members,  aiding  and  abetting  the  enemies 
of  the  order,  and  otherwise  deporting  yourself  to  the  general  in- 
jury of  the  fraternity,  you  are  hereby  summoned  to  appear  at  the 
.    next  regular  meeting  of  Brownsville  lodge  to  answer  said  charges, 
and  show  good  and  sufficient  reason  why  you  should  not  be  expelled 
for  the  same.  By  order  of  the  lodge  . 

BAXTER  STEBBINS,  Secretary. 

I  put  the  summons  in  my  pocket  to  show  to  Rachel. 
It  may  as  well  be  stated  in  passing  that  I  had  just  re- 
ceived a  certain  wifely  reproof,  which  on  looking  the 
matter  over  seriously  with  the  golden  rule  for  a  measure 
and  guide  —  which  same  old-fashioned  rule  b}T  the  way 
is  just  as  admirably  adapted  to  married  people  as  any 
one  else  —  I  came  to  the  conclusion  was  deserved. 

"  Leander,"  she  said,  laying  down  her  sewing  and 
walking  up  to  me  with  the  flush  on  her  cheek  decidedly 
deepening,  u  I  thought  there  were  to  be  no  secrets  be- 
tween us  any  more.  Do  you  think  I  would  have  said 
a  word  to  keep  you  back  from  sharing  Mark's  danger? 
Don't  you  know  yet  what  kind  of  a  woman  you  have 
married?'1 


250  HOLDER  WITH  COEDS. 

u  A  woman  as  fair  as  her  namesake  and  brave  as 
Deborah,  and  " — but  here  Rachel  put  her  hand  over  my 
mouth  and  stopped  me. 

"  Don't  be  silly,  Leander.  I  don't  want  compliments. 
I  want  you  to  promise  when  you  or  Mark  are  in  any 
danger  again  not  to  keep  it  from  me." 

tk  I  thought  it  would  save  you  from  worrying,  Rachel." 

"  If  that  isn't  just  like  a  man!"  replied  Rachel,  the 
laughter  coming  back  into  her  eyes.  "  Don't  you 
think  this  mystery  about  Sam  Toller's  coming  worried 
me  any  ?  As  soon  as  I  saw  your  face  I  felt  it  all  through 
me  that  he  wasn't  here  for  nothing.  You  see  we  women 
shut  up  at  home  grow  to  have  a  kind  of  sixth  sense, 
and  it  isn't  quite  so  easy  keeping  things  from  us  as  you 
men  seem  to  imagine.  Now  don't  you  ever  do  so  again, 
Leander."  And  with  a  little  imperative  shake  of  her 
finger  Rachel  went  back  to  her  sewing.  But  her  words 
bore  fruit  as  was  evidenced  by  my  showing  her  the 
lodge  summons  and  asking  her  advice  what  to  do 
about  it. 

u  Do  nothing,  of  course.  Pretty  business  to  suppose 
they  have  any  control  over  you,  a  free  man  under  a  free 
government!"  And  Rachel's  eyes  glowed  with  an  in- 
dignant fire. 

"  Well,  shall  I  burn  it  up?" 

u  Yes.    No;  give  it  to  me." 

And  as  Rachel  dropped  it  into  her  work-box  I  think 
there  was  a  subtle  sense  of  triumph  in  the  action. 
And  who  can  blame  her  if  she  did  take  a  certain  fine 
revenge  on  the  institution  that  had  wronged  and  in- 
sulted her  womanhood  just  as  it  wrongs  and  insults 
womanhood  everywhere,  by  consigning  its  most  dread- 


THE  SWORD  01*  DAMOCLES.  251 

ed  weapon  to  ignominious  imprisonment  among  needle- 
books,  hooks  and  eyes,  and  skeins  of  sewing  cotton! 

Though  not  so  shining  a  mark  for  Masonic  obloquy 
and  persecution  as  though  I  had  been  a  Mason  of  high- 
er degree,  I  did  not  escape  a  series  of  petty  insults  and 
vexations  from  members  of  the  craft,  which  is  not  to 
be  wondered  at  when  it  is  considered  that  Masonry 
solemnly  swears  its  devotees  to  "  take  vengeance  on  all 
traitors."  And  as  this  lovely  creed  had  no  stronger 
supporter  in  Brownsville  than  Darius  Fox,  it  followed 
naturally  that  he  should  be  chief  among  my  perse- 
cutors. Like  many  another  man  of  small  moral  caliber 
he  loved  the  lodge  for  the  very  things  that  would  make 
honest-minded  men  shrink  from  joining  it.  The  obli- 
gation to  keep  all  secrets  of  a  companion,  the  vows  to 
a  negative  morality  that  is  absolute  license — all  these 
he  rolled  as  a  sweet  morsel  under  his  tongue.  What 
wonder  then,  when  he  saw  the  imminent  danger  that 
threatened  his  beloved  craft,  he  was  filled  with  rage  and 
fury. 

Ways  of  annoyance  are  easy  enough  to  find  when  all 
one's  powers  are  set  in  that  direction.  Bars  were  mys- 
teriously let  down,  giving  my  cattle  the  freedom  of  the 
neighboring  cornfield  with  the  result  in  a  heavy  bill 
for  damages;  an  old  debt  of  my  grandfather's,  paid  long 
before  his  death,  was  hunted  up  and  made  the  basis  for 
a  claim  on  the  estate  that  could  only  be  settled  by  sub- 
mitting to  the  wrong,  or  by  wearisome  and  costly  liti- 
gation. And  finally  an  action  for  trespass  was  brought 
against  me  for  laying  a  new  stone  wall  a  trifle  outside 
of  what  was  alleged  to  be  the  true  boundary  line  be- 
tween my  own  farm  and  the  one  adjoining. 

"The  hand  of   Joab  is  in  this  thing,"  said  Luke 


252  HOLDER  WITH  COEDS. 

Thatcher,  significantly,  to  me.  "  They  say  Fox  threat- 
ens to  drive  you  out  of  Brownsville." 

Joe  happened  to  be  standing  by  and  heard  him. 

"  I've  got  a  small  account  to  settle  with  Joab  first," 
he  remarked,  coolly.  "I  think  of  going  over  to-night 
to  see  him  about  it,  and  taking  Sam  with  me." 

"  Wall,  I  reckon  yeVe.let  him  go  about  to  the  end  o£ 
his  tether,"  Sam  put  in  with  a  grin,  as  he  whipped  the 
dust  from  the  knees  of  his  trousers  with  one  hand,  and 
give  a  satisfied  thump  to  the  crown  of  his  hat  with  the 
other.  "It  won't  hurt  him  nor  nobody  else  if  ye  tie 
him  up  a  grain  closer." 

For  Sam  was  once  more  installed  as  general  factotum 
in  and  about  the  house,  the  same  queer,  shiftless  good- 
for-naught,  whose  short-comings  had  so  often  roused 
the  ire  of  the  much-enduring  Miss  Loker.  He  always 
alluded  to  my  grandfather  with  a  kind  of  tender,  touch- 
ing reverence. 

"  I  tell  ye  the  Captain  was  a  Christian.  Some  folks 
never  care  how  they  treat  a  hired  man,  but  yer  grand- 
'ther,  now,  was  one  of  the  kind  that  allus  wanted  his 
men  to  hev  as  good  victuals  and  drink  as  he  had  him- 
self. And  when  I  think  about  him  I  like  to  remember 
that  verse  in  Revelations  about  their  all  sitting  down 
together  to  the  Marriage  Supper  up  above.  He'll  hev 
good  fare  there,  no  mistake." 

0,  it  is  a  blessed  thing  when  the  poor  and  lowly  keep 
our  memories  green  after  the  places  that  knew  us  once 
know  us  no  more  forever;  when  their  kindly  thoughts 
follow  us  like  attending  angels  as  we  pass  into  the 
eternal  mysteries  of  the  life  beyond. 

I  have  previously  mentioned  the  fact  that  Darius  Fox 
kept  a  distillery.  It  was  to  this  place  that  Sam  and 


THE  SWORD  OF   DAMOCLES.      '  253 

Joe,  when  the  evening  shadows  began  to  gather  and  the 
farm  chores  were  over  for  the  day,  directed  their  steps 
— an  ancient,  smoke-stained  building  much  frequented 
by  the  men  and  boys  of  Brownsville,  either  because 
they  liked  the  odor  of  the  still,  the  chance  of  imbibing 
stray  drops  of  the  sweet  liquor  through  a  straw,  or  for 
some  social  charm  inherent  in  the  general  atmosphere 
of  the  place. 

Joe  sat  down  nonchalantly  on  one  of  the  big  casks 
beside  old  Ezekiel  Trull,  who  was  partially  deaf;  and 
drawing  a  small  volume  from  out  his  pocket  inquired 
in  the  loud  tones  rendered  necessary  by  the  old  gentle- 
man's infirmity — 

"  Have  you  seen  one  of  Morgan's  books  yet,  Mr. 
Trull  ?  I  heard  Miller  had  got  it  out  so  I  sent  for  one 
the  other  day." 

u  Morgan's  book  out!  the  one  they  murdered  him  for 
trying  to  get  up.  Dew  tell.  I'd  give  a  sight  to  see  it," 
answered  the  old  man,  eagerly,  fumbling  for  his  spec- 
tacles,  and  speaking  himself  in  that  high  key  natural 
to  the  deaf,  so  that  the  general  attention  was  attracted 
precisely  as  Joe  meant  it  should  be. 

They  crowded  round  to  see  the  book,  some  scornful, 
but  all  curious.  Even  Darius  Fox  drew  near  with  the 
rest.  The  thing  to  prevent  which  he  and  so  many 
others  had  united  to  murder  Morgan  had  not  been  pre- 
vented after  all.  Here  was  the  work  for  which  he  gave 
his  life,  rising  phoenix-like  from  his  martyr's  grave 
under  the  cold  waters  of  Niagara,  tenfold  more  potent 
through  his  death.  And  this  was  what  they  in  their 
mad  rage  against  him  had  accomplished. 

He  took  the  book,  shuffled  the  leaves  over,  then  threw 
it  from  him  with  an  oath. 


254  HOLDER  WITH  COEDS. 

"  It's  just  a  pack  of  lies,  but  they'll  do  to  fool  Anti- 
masons  with." 

"  If  that  is  the  case  it  ain't  worth  swearing  about, 
seems  to  me,"  said  Joe,  coolly,  as  he  stooped  to  pick  up 
the  book,  a  trifle  the  worse  for  the  rough  treatment  it 
had  received.  His  retort  was  fol]owed  by  a  laugh  from 
one  or  two  who, saw  the  point.  It  angered  Darius,  who 
fiercely  repeated — 

"  I  say  it  again.  The  book  is  a  vile  imposition.  I 
don't  want  to  see  no  more  of  it  than  I  have."  And 
Darius  turned  away,  but  not  so  quickly  that  he  failed 
to  hear  Sam  Toller  drawl  out — 

*lSay,  Joe,  ain't  it  a  good  deal  like  that  book  ye  bor- 
rowed once?  Or  I  dunno  as  ye  'zactly  borrowed  it. 
Kinder  fell  in  yer  way,  didn't  it?  Maybe  Morgan 
copied  from  that." 

u  If  he  did  he  has  altered  one  or  two  things.  That 
was  J.  B.;  this  is  B.  J.,"  replied  Joe. 

UB.  J.?  That  ain't  the  title  of  the  book,  is  it?" 
asked  one  of  the  company  not  posted  in  lodge  lore, 
while  Mr.  Fox,  trembling  at  the  idea  that  Joe  might 
be  on  the  brink  of  revealing  what  would  certainly 
make  him  the  laughing-stock  of  the  whole  neighbor, 
hood  if  it  should  ever  get  out,  was  for  once  in  the  un- 
pleasant predicament  of  not  knowing  what  to  do  or 
say.  But  to  make  peace  with  his  dangerous  adversary, 
in  the  words  of  Scripture,  "  while  he  was  in  the  way 
with  him,"  seemed  the  only  discreet  thing  to  do  under 
the  circumstances. 

"  Sam,"  he  said,  "  I  wish  you  would  help  me  a  minute 
out  here.  And  you  too,  Joe,  if  you  will.  It's  only  a 
band's  turn  I  want."  And  Sam  and  Joe  accordingly 
followed  Mr.  Fox,  who  led  them  into  a  small,  unfinished 


THE  SWORD  OF  DAMOCLES.  255 

room  in  the  rear  of  the  building,  and  pouring  out  two 
glasses  of  his  own  liquor  he  presented  one  to  each,  say- 
ing in  an  injured  tone  as  he -did  so — 

"  This  is  confounded  mean  business  to  go  and  blow 
on  a  fellow  after  you've  given  your  solemn  promise  to 
keep  mum.1' 

"  Now  look  here,  Mister,"  answered  Joe,  scornfully 
refusing  the  proffered  peace-offering  to  which  Sam,  on 
the  contrary,  had  due  respect.  "  When  I  heard  that 
you  were  throwing  out  hints  to  the  lodge  that  Leander 
had  been  letting  out  the  secrets,  I  went  to  you  and  I 
warned  you  pretty  plain  that  the  real  traitor  would  be 
exposed  if  that  talk  wasn't  all  taken  back.  When 
Jachin  and  Boaz  tumbled  out  of  your  pocket  and  I 
picked  it  up  one  night  when  you  were  going  home  from 
the  lodge  too  drunk  to  know  your  right  hand  from  your 
left,  I  had  no  thought  of  making  you  ridiculous  and 
hurling  you  in  the  lodge  by  telling  the  story  round  how 
I  came  by  the  secrets.  I  only  wanted  a  little  fun  and 
I  had  it,  by  teaching  them  to  Sam,  so  that  he  could 
pass  himself  off  for  a  Mason.  But  now  the  secrets  are 
all  out  my  little  game  is  up,  but  I  see  yours  isn't.  Be- 
cause Leander  knows  that  Masons  murdered  Morgan, 
and  ain't  afraid  to  say  so;  because  he  left  the  lodge  like 
an  honest  man  when  he  found  out  what  Masonry  really 
is,  you've  persecuted  him  every  way  you  could  think  of. 
You've  used  tools  and  tried  to  keep  your  hand  hidden, 
but  what  is  the  use  when  everybody  in  Brownsville 
knows  as  well  as  I  do  that  you  are  at  the  bottom  of  all 
this  mischief.  Now,  Mr.  Fox,  unless  you  give  me  your 
solemn  pledge  with  Sam  Toller  here  for  a  witness,  to 
have  all  legal  proceedings  against  Leander  dropped,  and 
not  to  trouble  him  any  more,  that  story  shall  be  spread 


256  HOLDER   WITH    CORDS. 

all  over  the  neighborhood.  And  I  mean  what  I  say. 
You  had  better  be  careful,  Darius  Fox,  just  for  your 
own  good.  Folks  say  thai? you  know  all  about  Morgan, 
and  they  say  some  other  things  that  are  not  exactly  to 
your  credit,  but  I  ain't  called  on  to  repeat  'em.  Just 
give  me  that  promise.  That's  all  I  want  of  you" 

Darius  Fox  stood  for  a  moment  in  silence,  but  he  had 
enough  good  sense  to  accept  Joe's  alternative. 

"  You're  too  hard  on  me,  Joe,  But  that  matter  about 
the  wall — if  I  can  get  Joel  Barnes  to  drop  it  I  will.  I 
was  only  in  the  way  of  my  duty  serving  my  writ.  A 
sheriff  has  to  act  without  respect  of  persons,  you 
know." 

"0,  yes;  Mason  or  Antimason,"  answered  Joe,  sar- 
castically, as  he  marched  off  in  company  with  the 
chuckling  Sam.  "  Good  night,  Mr.  Fox,  I  hope  you 
will  remember  the  little  talk  we've  just  had  and  govern 
yourself  accordingly.'1 

One  more  scene  and  Darius  Fox  fades  from  my  story. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

MASONRY    REVEALED.  —  SAM     TOLLER'S     MASONRY.  —  THE 
MYSTERY    OF   OAK   ORCHARD   CREEK. 

HE  appearance  of  Morgan's  book  deep- 
ened the  public  agitation  and  excite- 
ment. To  many  in  the  Masonic  ranks 
it  came  like  a  decree  of  emancipation. 
The  secrets  were  out;  if  not  actually 
proclaimed  from  the  house-tops  they  were 
freely  sold  to  the  simplest  cowan  who  chose 
to  invest  a  part  of  his  day's  wages  in  learning 
the  august  and  sublime  mysteries  of  Freerfta- 
sonry.  Why  were  they  bound  to  keep  secret  what  was 
no  secret?  And  some  bolder  spirits,  among  whom  was 
Mark  Stedman,  went  farther.  Why  not  tear  away  the 
veil  that  hid  the  higher  degrees? — and  show  Masonry 
personating  Jehovah  in  the  burning  bush,  or  seated  as 
the  All-Puissant  on  his  throne  of  judgment,  thus  liter- 
ally fulfilling  the  New  Testament  prophecies  of  the 
Man  of  Sin;  show  Christ's  Holy  Supper  profaned  in 
horrible  burlesque  by  deacons  and  drunkards,  ministers 
and  libertines — and  finally  the  veil  entirely  withdrawn, 
show  her  swearing  her  devotees  "to  crush  the  head  of 
the  serpent  of  ignorance — a  serpent  which  we  detest, 
that  is  adored  by  the  idiot  and  vulgar  under  the  name 
of  RELIGION!'' 


258  HOLDER  WITH  COEDS. 

This  will  surely  be  the  death-blow  to  Masonry.  So 
said  and  thought  the  band  of  patriots  which  met  at  Le 
Roy  and  placed  on  record  for  all  future  time  their  in 
dependence  as  Christian  men  and  American  citizens. 
So  thought  every  honest  man  and  woman  who  read  or 
heard  their  testimony.  So  thought  Joe,  who  concluded 
it  was  time  to  surrender  his  secret.  And  accordingly 
one  day  I  found  a  bundle  of  foolscap  laid  in  convenient 
reach  for  my  inspection,  all  written  over  with  the  first 
three  Masonic  degrees. 

"What  under  the  sun  have  you  got  here,  Joe?"  I 
exclaimed. 

"  Only  something  for  Rachel  to  kindle  her  fire  with,'' 
was  the  cool  reply.  "  That  is  all  it  is  good  for  now. 
Say,  Leander,  do  you  remember  that  old  book  I  was 
looking  at  the  night  you  joined  the  lodge?" 

"  To  be  sure  I  do.     Now,  how  did  you  come  by  it?" 

"Easy  enough.  I  was  walking  home  from  Jake 
Goodwin's  party  " — 

"Who  with?"  I  interrupted,  with  that  teasing  free- 
dom in  which  elder  brothers  sometimes  indulge. 

u  Come,  Leander,"  answered  Joe,  coloring,  "  that  is 
no  business  of  yours.  If  you  ask  impertinent  ques- 
tions I  shall  stop.  Of  course  I  went  home  with  some- 
body, but  we  had  parted  company,  and  I  was  just 
coming  over  the  hill  there  by  the  widow  Tappan's  when 
I  overtook  Darius  Fox  coming  home  from  lodge  just 
half  seas  over;  I  never  saAV  him  really  drunk  before, 
but  folks  say  since  the  Morgan  affair  happened  he's 
been  getting  into  drinking  ways  fast." 

"  I've  noticed  it  myself.     Well.  Joe,  go  on." 

"  His  gait  was  very  unsteady,  and  once  he  nearly 
pitched  over,  and  in  the  jerk  he  give  to  save  himself, 


SAM  TOLLER'S  MASONRY.  259 

or  some  way,  that  book  iell  out  of  his  pocket.  There 
was  a  good  bright  moon  and  I  stopped  a  minute  to  ex- 
amine it.  The  title — Jachin  and  Boaz — sounded  as 
though  it  was  some  kind  of  a  religious  book,  but  that 
kind  of  reading  is  not  quite  in  Darius'  line,  so  I  looked 
a  little  farther.  When  I  see  it  was  something  about 
Masonry  I  slapped  it  into  my  pocket  quick  as  a  wink. 
1  So  ho,'  thinks  I,  fc  this  is  the  way  you  lodge  members 
post  yourselves.  What  is  to  hinder  my  learning  the 
signs  and  grips  and  initiating  Sam  Toller?'  You  know 
Sam  is  always  ready  for  a  joke,  and  he  was  just  as 
much  tickled  with  the  idea  as  I  was.  But  learning  it 
by  heart  was  such  a  job  Sam  told  me  I  had  better  copy 
it  off.  So  I  bought  a  quire  of  foolscap  ami  we  sat  up 
two  whole  nights  out  in  the  barn  to  do  it.'1 

u  I  wonder  you  didn't  set  the  barn  on  fire,  Joe." 
k<  Well,  we  did  come  pretty  nigh  it  once,"  confessed 
Joe,  "  when  we  thought  we  heard  Miss  Lojter  or  some- 
body else  coming.  Sam  scrabbled  so  to  hide  our  light 
he  tipped  it  over,  and  I  thought  for  a  minute  we  should 
be  all  in  a  blaze.  When  we  got  it  nicely  copied  off 
T  had  a  fine  chance  to  return  it  on  the  sly.  Miss 
Loker  sent  me  over  to  the  Fox  place  for  some  kind  of 
dried  herb  she  wanted,  and  while  Aunt  Subrey  was 
rummaging  over  her  collections  up  stairs  I  clapped  the 
book  right  back  again  into  the  pocket  of  Darius'  coat 
that  was  laying  over  a  chiiir  in  the  keeping  room — the 
very  same  one  he  had  on  that  night.  And  the  joke  of 
the  matter  is,  Darius  had  never  missed  it,  so  lie  never 
thought  Ae  was  the  leaky  vessel  till  I  come  to  blow  him 
up  for  calling  you  a  traitor.  You  should  have  seen  his 
face.  But  I  had  the  staff  in  my  own  hands,  and  I've 
kept  it  there  ever  since.  Darius  is  like  an  alligator — 


&60  HOLDEX  WITH  COfcbS. 

bullet  proof  except  in  one  particular  spot.  He  don't 
like  to  be  laughed  at.  Now  I  know  just  as  well  as  I 
want  to  that  he  set  Joel  Barnes  on  to  make  trouble 
about  that  wall.  And  you  may  just  thank  me  that  it 
has  all  ended  in  smoke.  And  another  thing  Sam  tells 
me,  these  men  t^at  were  going  to  carry  off  Mark  Sted- 
man  bragged  that  Sheriff  Fox  would  never  arrest  them. 
'  He's  a  Royal  Arch,'  said  one,  '  and  knows  as  much 
about  Morgan  as  anybody  except  them  that  pushed 
him  into  the  river."  Tin  glad  I  don't  stand  in  his 
shoes." 

And  Joe  went  off  after  letting  in  this  flood  of  light* 
on  more  than  one  hitherto  mysterious  point;  among 
others  the  sudden  stay  of  proceedings  in  the  before- 
mentioned  trespass  case.  Though  one  reason  may 
have  been  that  Darius  himself  was  before  long  in  the 
grasp  of  that  law  which,  under  guise  of  administering, 
he  had  violated  and  defied. 

At  the  next  sitting  of  the  county  court  a  bill  of  in- 
dictment was  found  against  him  for  procuring  a  car- 
riage in  which  to  convey  Morgan  one  stage  of  his 
journey  and  otherwise  helping  on  the  work  of  kid- 
napping and  murder.  But  the  trial  was  put  off  on  ac- 
count of  some  technical  irregularity,  and  the  same 
strange  difficulties  appeared  that  had  beset  the  way  of 
justice  in  the  case  of  at  least  a  score  of  others,  formally 
indicted,  but  somehow  impossible  to  convict.  The 
hoodwink  over  the  eyes  of  Masonic  juries  blinded  them 
to  the  clearest  evidence  of  guilt.  Witnesses  were 
counselled  beforehand  by  Masonic  lawyers  to  withhold 
the  truth,  and  when  examined  the  questions  were  so 
adroitly  put  that  they  could  be  answered  without  re- 
vealing anything  on  which  to  frame  indictments  or 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  OAK   ORCHARD   CREEK.  261 

prove  criminality.  And  when  most  important  links  in 
the  evidence  were  wanting,  witnesses  who  had  knowl- 
edge of  the  desired  facts  were  strangely  spirited  off  no- 
body  knew  whither,  thus  baffling  all  efforts  to  forge  a 
chain  of  clear  and  decisive  proof. 

It  was  plain  to  see  that  the  whole  Masonic  fraternity 
had  an  interest  in  stifling  investigation;  that  it  intend- 
ed the  fate  of  Morgan  should  remain  forever  one  of 
those  shrouded  secrets  to  which  the  years  only  add  a 
deeper  mystery  as  they  bear  them  farther  and  farther 
on  towards  the  light  of  God's  great  Day  of  final  re- 
vealing. But  since  the  time  when  the  earth  refused  to 
cover  the  blood  of  Abel," there  has  been  a  deep-seated 
belief  in  the  human  mind,  borne  out  by  many  a  strange 
and  curious  fact,  that  subtle  agencies  are  continually 
at  work  to  dog  the  murderer's  steps  and  drag  his  secrets 
into  human  view — as  if  the  heart  of  our  great  Mother 
Nature  herself  rose  in  shuddering  revolt  to  cast  it  out 
of  her  bosom. 

On  the  8th  day  of  October,  1827,  a  little  over  a  year 
from  the  mysterious  disappearance  of  Morgan,  the  body 
of  an  unknown  man  was  cast  ashore  at  Oak  Orchard 
Creek,  and  hastily  buried  after  an  equally  hurried  in- 
quest. This  fact  soon  became  noised  abroad,  and  the 
question  arose  and  passed  from  lip  to  lip. ki  What  if  this 
unknown  man  should  prove  to  be  Morgan?"  The  fact 
that  all  were  Masons  who  officiated  at  the  inquest,  and 
that  as  soon  as  the  body  came  ashore  members  of  the 
fraternity  were  on  the  watch  to  inter  it  as  quickly  and 
quietly  as  possible,  pointed  suspicion. 

A  second  inquest  was  resolved  upon ;  Mrs.  Morgan 
was  notified  and  invitations  sent  out  to  his  old  friends 
and  neighbors  in  Batavia  to  appear  and  give  testimony. 


But  the  story  of  this  second  inquest  as  well  as  some 
curious  after  circumstances  which  finally  led  to  a  third 
one  after  the  identity  of  the  body  was  supposed  to  be 
established  beyond  doubt,  I  can  best  give  in  the  words 
of  my  grandfather's  old  friend,  Mr.  Jedediah  Mills, 
whom  I  came  across  one  day  when  on  a  visit  to  a 
neighboring  town. 

I  thought  Mr.  Mills  looked  thinner  and  a  trifle  care- 
worn, but  he  shook  my  hand  with  the  same  hearty 
cordiality  that  had  welcomed  me  to  Tonawanda;  aud  a 
few  words  sufficed  to  launch  him  on  a  subject  which 
was  just  then  the  theme  of  universal  conversation — 
the  strange  discovery  of  Morg-an's  body  and  the  still 
stranger  circumstances  attending  the  efforts  made  to 
identify  it. 

It's  a  queer  story  from  beginning  to  end.  If  I  had 
read  it  somewhere  in  a  novel  I  vow  I  wouldn't  have  be- 
lieved it.  You  see  the  river  had  been  dragged  to  find 
the  body,  and  I  suppose  it  got  started  somehow  from 
the  weight  that  held  it  to  the  bottom,  and  floated  on 
top.  The  water  of  Niagara  River  ain't  just  like  com- 
mon river  water;  it's  clearer  and  colder.  Why,  I've 
known  a  man  that  was  lost  over  the  falls  and  when 
they  found  him  a  year  after  he  hadn't  hardly  changed. 
Now  I  ain't  any  surer  that  I'm  a  living  man  than  I  am 
that  this  was  Morgan's  body.  Mr.  Greene  was  there 
to  the  inquest,  and  Colonel  Miller  and  Captain  Davids, 
and  they  all  said  the  same  thing.  And  his  poor  wife, 
when  she  come  to  look  at  the  corpse, she  just  said,  'My 
God!'  and  it  seemed  for  a  minute  as  if  she  was  going  to 
faint  dead  away,  I  declare,  I  felt — 1  don't  know  how, 
to  see  that  poor  young  thing — pretty  as  a  picture,  too, 
with  the  tears  a  running  down  her  cheeks,  and  thought 


THE  MYSTERY   OF   OAK   ORCHARD   CREEK.  263 

how  she  was  left  all  alone,  in  the  world  with  her  two 
fatherless  babes.  What  if  it  had  been  my  Hannah 
now!  I  can't  feel  reconciled  to  some  things  that  hap- 
pen in  this  world,  nohow." 

And  Mr.  Mills  pulled  out  his  handkerchief  and  made 
vigorous  use  thereof,  while  I  echoed  inwardly,  "  Poor 
young  thing!"  hardly  older  than  Rachel,  yet  called  to 
such  a  baptism  of  suspense  and  anguish;  mocked  in 
her  perplexity  and  distress  by  the  very  men  who  had 
taken  her  husband's  life,  as  related  in  the  words  of  her 
simple  and  touching  affidavit.  Verily  there  are  things 
that  make  us  wonder  at  the  patience  of  the  Infinite; 
but  among  the  promises  of  Holy  Writ  is  one  that 
shines  with  that  awful  glory  which  is  finally  to  destroy 
every  system  of  darkness  and  oppression.  Well  may 
the  Church  herself  look  to  it  that  she  is  not  in  unholy 
league  with  a  power  that  persecutes  the  saints  of  the 
Most  High  and  hides  in  its  skirts  innocent  blood. 
u  The  day  of  vengeance  of.  our  God  shall  surety  come; 
it  shall  come  and  will  not  tarry." 

"  Mrs.  Morgan's  testimony  was  very  clear,  I  under- 
stood, about  the  marks  on  the  body."'  said  L 

"  Clear!"  echoed  Mr.  Mills.  "  There  wan't  a  flaw  in 
it.  She  testified  before  the  lid  of  the  coffin  was  opened 
about  the  hair — chestnut  color,  long  and  silky,  and 
about  his  having  double  teeth  all  around,  and  told 
where  he'd  had  one  pulled  out.  And  the  very  doctor 
that  pulled  it  was  there  from  Batavia  and  had  the 
tooth  with  him,  and  it  fitted  right  into  the  place.  And 
she  told,  too,  about  a  scar  on  his  foot  made  by  cutting 
it  with  an  axe,  and  sure  enough  when  they  come  to 
look  there  it  was  plain  as  day.  Oh,  there  was  no  getting 
over  such  evidence  if  she  didn't  tell  ri^ht  about  the 


HOLDEN   WITH    CORDS. 

clothes.  But  that  is  easy  (enough  explained  to  my 
mind.  I  believe  the  Masons  changed  Morgan's  clothes 
when  they  had  him  shut  up  in  the  fort." 

"  You're  idea  is  reasonable,  Mr.  Mills,"  said  I,  after 
thinking  it  over  for  a  moment.  u  They  intended  in 
the  event  of  the  body  ever  being-  found  to  prevent 
identification  as  far  as  possible." 

ujust  so.  Exactly;1'  answered  Mr.  Mills.  "  Well 
of  course  the  body  was  brought  to  Batavia  and  buried; 
and  then  came  the  queer  part  of  the  story.  It  begun 
to  be  told  round  among  Masons  that  it  was  a  Timothy 
Munroe,  a  man  that  was  drowned  in  Niagara  River  a 
few  weeks  before  that  we'd  got  buried  there.  So  a 
third  inquest  was  held  and  this  Munroe's  wife  and  son 
— or  a  woman  and  a  boy  that  called  themselves  by  that 
name — came  before  the 'coroner's  jury  and  swore  to  its 
being  Munroe  instead  of  Morgan." 

u  What  kind  of  a  testimony  did  the  woman  give?"  I 
inquired. 

"  I  didn't  think  much  of  it,"  answered  Mr.  Mills, 
emphatically.  "She  told  about  the  double  teeth  all 
round,  but  she  couldn't  tell  to  which  jaw  the  tooth  that 
was  pulled  belonged.  She  said  his  hair  was  short  and 
black,  and  she  didn't  know  anything  about  the  scar  on 
his  foot.  But  come  to  the  clothes,  and  she  run  on  as 
glibly  as  an  auctioneer.  She  even  told  of  a  place  in 
the  heel  of  his  stocking  that  had  been  mended  with 
yarn  of  a  different  color.  There  was  something  mys- 
terious about  that  woman,"  added  Mr.  Mills,  lowering 
his  voice.  "  You've  read  in  the  Bible,  I  suppose,  about 
the  judgment  of  Solomon.  Well,  if  I  had  been  Solo- 
mon, and  that  case  was  brought  before  me,  I  should 
have  known  mighty  quick  on  which  side  to  give  judg- 


THE   MYSTERY   OF   OAK    ORCHARD   CREEK.  265 

ment,  Morgan's  wife  or  that  Munroe  woman.  I've  got 
my  own  thoughts  about  her  that  I  don't  tell  to  every- 
body. I  believe  she  was  a  man  dressed  up  in  woman's 
clothes." 

I  stared  at  Mr.  Mills  in  astonishment.  Could  it  be 
that  the  ancient  and  glorious  order  of  Freemasonry, 
which  treats  the  whole  female  sex  with  such  sublime 
contempt,  was  actually  not  above  borrowing  its  dress 
in  ;m  emergency  when  some  little  irregularity,  entirely 
Masonic,  but  which  the  general  sense  of  mankind 
strangely  enough  disapproves  of,  needed  to  be  covered 
up? — as  for  instance  kidnapping  and  murder? 

*'  She  kept  her  veil  down  over  her  face,"  continued 
Mr.  Mills,  u  so  it  was  her  gait  and  her  voice  T  judged 
by  mostly,  but  them  two  things  were  enough  for  me. 
The  boy  with  her  was  the  greenest  kind  of  a  fellow 
that  I  ever  sat  eyes  on;  just  the  chap  to  be  made  a  tool 
of  in  any  such  business.  And  when  the  amiir  was  over 
they  both  disappeared,  nobody  knew  where.  But  I'll 
j nst  tell  you" — and  here  Mr.  Mills  again  lowered  his 
voice  confidentially,  uwhat  my  wife's  cousin  Joshua 
says  about  it.  He  lives  in  Wayne  county,  next  door  to 
a  doctor  by  the  name  of  Lewis,  a  Royal  Arch  Mason, 
and  one  that  had  considerable  to  do  with  taking  off 
Morgan.  He  says  the  Masons  round  there  were  dread- 
ful flurried  when  they  knew  Morgan's  body  was  recog- 
nized. The  doctor  give  out  that  he  h&d  a  very  danger- 
ous patient  in  the  next  town,  and  hurried  off  post  haste 
with  his  hostler  Mike,  but  instead  of  going  to  perform 
an  operation  as  he  said,  it  was  found  out  afterwards  that 
he  had  gone  in  the  direction  of  Batavia.  I  described 
the  woman  and  boy  as  well  as  I  could  to  Joshua  and  he 
just  clappod  his  hands  on  his  knees,  and  says  he,  '  I'd 


HOLDER   WITH   CORDS. 

be  willing  to  lay  you  a  five-dollar  gold  piece  that  Mrs. 
Munroe  and  her  son  was  Dr.  Lewis  and  his  coach-boy.' 
It's  a  queer  kind  of  a  world;"  and  Mr.  Mills  sighed 
with  that  deep-drawn  sigh  that  only  comes  from  the 
hidden  places  of  trouble,  "  Now  I  never  thought  that 
in  my  old  age  I  should  be  in  danger  of  losing  my  farm. 
But  the  title  deed  wan't  quite  right;  something  put  in 
or  something  left  out,  I  hardly  know  which,  and  I'm 
here  after  a  lawj^er,  though  I  hain't  much  opinion  of 
lawyers  nor  courts  nuther  now-a-days." 

It  was  the  old  story  over  again — of  persecution  and 
wrong  that  was  to  find  no  redress  this  side  of  the  grave; 
of  injustice  shielded  under  the  sacred  form  of  law;  of 
the  wicked  laying  a  snare  for  the  righteous  in  the  secret 
chambers  of  iniquity,  and  saying,  "Behold  the  Lord 
doth  not  regard." 


CHAPTER  XXIX 

SUNDRY    HAPPENINGS. 

.HOUGH  it  still  continued  in  many  minds 
an  unsettled  question  whether  or  no 
Morgan's  body  had  actually  been  dis- 
covered, popular  excitement  was  wak- 
ened anew.  Masons  were  exultant  over 
the  Timothy  Munroe  story,  while  the  op- 
posite party  saw  in  it  nothing  but  a  clever 
ruse  by  which  to  deceive  the  public  and  influ- 
ence the  approaching  elections.  For  the  whole 
subject  from  being  a  mere  matter  for  the  courts  to  deal 
with  had  now  come  to  play  an  important  part  in  our 
national  politics.  In  a  country  where  the  unbiased 
will  of  the  people  constitutes  the  only  court  of  appeal 
it  follows  naturally  that  all  great  moral  evils  must 
stand  their  trial  sooner  or  later  before  that  august 
tribunal.  And  Masonry  had  reached  the  point  sooner 
for  the  reason  that  her  haughty  defiance  of  law  and 
justice,  as  well  as  her  arrogant  assumption  of  an  au- 
thority superior  to  that  of  the  State  had  alarmed  all 
candid  and  thoughtful  men,  and  fairly  forced  the  ques- 
tion to  a  political  issue. 

That  the  strife  as  it  went  on  should  develop  a  spirit 
of  heat  and  acrimony  and  unfairness  even  on  the  side 


268  HOLDER  WITH  COEDS. 

of  the  partizans  of  truth,  is  nothing  strange  consider- 
ing the  infirmities  of  human  nature.  For  in  every 
rising  of  popular  wrath  against  an  established  wrong 
or  abuse  there  is  a  grand  intolerance,  like  an  earth- 
quake or  a  whirlwind  that  levels  indiscriminately;  it 
makes  no  allowance  for  possible  honesty  on  the  part  of 
some  who  support  that  particular  evil  against  which 
the  arrows  are  for  the  time  being  hurled.  Timorous 
Masons  cowered  before  the  storm,  and  withdrew  from 
the  lodge  in  shame  and  silence,  while  others  of  different 
caliber,  roused  to  a  perfect  frenzy  of  bitterness  and 
hate  at  the  threatened  downfall  of  their  cherished  in- 
stitution persecuted,  with  all  the  weapons  malice  could 
invent,  those  recreant  brethren  who  had  testified  to  its 
evil  works. 

Such  was  the  situation  in  the  fall  of  1827,  a  year 
after  the  death  of  Morgan. 

Elder  Gushing  preached  on;  his  congregation,  as  re- 
garded the  male  members,  almost  entirely  Masonic, 
sustained  him.  But  there  had  been  no  revival  in  the 
church  since  the  period  of  its  first  planting,  and  it  was 
soon  apparent  to  all  that  the  candle-stick  was  being 
slowly  moved  out  of  its  place,  especially  when  a  series 
of  religious  meetings  in  the  neighborhood  had  drawn 
in  many  of  the  young  people  and  caused  not  a  few  to 
inquire  anxiously  the  way  of  salvation.  For  so  deep 
was  the  interest  manifested  that  these  meetings  were 
continued  and  formed  the  seed  of  a  new  church,  small 
in  numbers  but  rich  in  faith,  and  full  of  that  spiritual 
life  and  energy  which  naturally  abounds  where  most  of 
the  members  are  new  converts.  It  took  in  Rachel  and 
I  and  baptized  our  little  one — dear  old  Methodist  Epis- 
copal church  whom  I  shall  never  cease  to  love,  though 


269 

1  love  the  Church  Universal  better.  And  though  peo- 
ple and  pastor  alike  have  in  too  many  instances  forgot- 
ten the  faith  of  their  early  founders,  and  turned  aside 
to  a  strange  worship,  God  visit  them  in  mercy  and 
bring  them  back  to  their  first  love! 

The  Morgan  trials  dragged  slowly  along  without 
reaching  any  definite  result.  His  murderers,  still  at 
large,  defied  the  hand  of  law  to  touch  them,  and  before 
'winter  was  over  Brownsville  had  its  sensation  in  the 
sudden  flight  of  Darius  Fox,  against  whom  new  evi- 
dence had  appeared  implicating  him  still  more  deeply 
in  the  plot,  so  that  another  warrant  was  speedily  issued 
for  his  arrest. 

"  They  say  the  officers  were  after  him,''  said  Joe, 
who  brought  in  the  news,  "  but  somehow  he  got  wind 
of  it  and  cleared  out.  It  wasn't  an  hour  before  they 
came  to  arrest  him  that  Seth  Briggs  says  he  was  talk- 
ing with  him  about  a  young  horse  he  wanted  to  buy. 
They  couldn't  seem  to  come  to  a  bargain,  and  while 
they  were  chaifing  lie  saw  Darius  look  up  and  grow  sort 
of  white  about  the  mouth.  k  I'm  in  a  hurry  now.7  said 
he,  '  we'll  let  the  matter  go  till  another  time.1  And 
Seth  says  he  noticed  a  man  come  in  while  thej^  were 
talking  that  he  is  sure  gave  Fox  the  Masonic  sign. 
Anyhow  he's  left  Brownsville,"  concluded  Joe,  u  and  I 
hope  his  place  will  be  filled  by  a  better  man." 

In  which  expression  Joe  was  not  alone,  but  there 
remained  another  surprise  for  the  people  of  Browns- 
ville in  the  fact  that  the  ex-sheriff  had  not  left  his 
affairs  in  the  confused  state  which  would  seem  to  fol- 
low naturally  on  such  a  sudden  flight.  All  his  proper- 
ty, including  the  distillery,  was  soon  found  to  have 
been  secretly  purchased — rumor  said  by  the  lodge — at  a 


270  HOLDER  WITH   CORDS. 

price  so  far  in  advance  of  its  real  value  as  to  cover  all 
pecuniary  loss  sustained  in  his  abrupt  departure.  As 
it  is  on  record  by  indisputable  authority  that  the  Grand 
Lodge  and  Grand  Chapter  of  the  State  contributed 
large  sums  during  the  time  the  Morgan  trials  were 
pending  for  the  aid  and  defence  of  their  distressed  Ma- 
sonic brethren  it  will  be  seen  that  their  claim  to 
benevolence  is  not  without  a  certain  foundation ;  but 
as  a  band  of  thieves  and  murderers  would  probably 
be  just  as  benevolent  under  similar  circumstances  I  will 
cite  one  historical  instance  and  let  the  subject  pass. 

The  following  spring,  Richard  Howard,  the  midnight 
incendiary,  closely  pursued  by  the  officers  of  justice, 
entered  an  encampment  of  Knight  Templars  in  the 
city  of  New  York,  and  there  confessed  himself  guilty 
of  the  murder  of  Morgan.  He  was  helped  to  embark 
on  board  a  vessel  bound  for  some  European  port;  and 
with  the  wages  of  sin  in  his  hand,  fled  his  native  coun- 
try, and  how  or  where  he  died  only  the  Judgment  Day 
will  reveal.  The  two  others  also  escaped  -the  grasp  of 
the  law  by  a  flight  into  what  was  then  the  extreme 
western  boundaries  of  the  Union,  but  who  shall  say 
they  went  unpunished? — that  in  dreams  haunted  by 
the  last  look  of  their  victim,  in  the  sigh  of  the  wind  or 
the  rustle  of  a  leaf  instinct  with  startling  messages  of 
fear  for  their  guilty  souls  God  did  not  vindicate  his 
righteous  judgment  against  all  murderers. 

Mark  Stedman  had  been  appointed  on  a  circuit  that 
came  very  near  the  Tonawanda  line.  For  this  reason 
or  some  other  we  soon  found  out  by  his  letters  that  he 
was  a  frequent  guest  in  the  family  of  Mr.  Jedediah 
Mills,  whose  troubles  he  was  not  slow  to  ascribe  to 
their  true  origin — the  machinations  of  the  lodge. 


MARK  AND  HANNAH.  271 

"  They  mean  to  ruin  him  for  the  part  he  played  ill 
the  rescue  of  Colonel  Miller,'1  wrote  Mark.  l<  When  a 
vast  secret  power  like  Masonry  sets  itself  against  one 
solitary  individual  thai  individual  must  go  to  the  wall. 
They  mean  to  ruin  Mr.  Greene  of  the  Park  Tavern, 
and  they  are  doing  it  as  fast  as  they  can  by  'deranging 
his  business '  in  every  possible  way.  To  tell  you  all 
the  outrages  he  has  suffered  would  fill  a  volume.  He  is 
making  a  brave  fight,  but  what  avails  it  against  such 
an  enemy?  How  long,  0  Lord,  shall  the  wicked  per- 
secute? How  long  shall  they  bend  their  bow  and 
make  ready  their  arrows  upon  the  string  that  they  may 
privily  shoot  at  the  upright  in  heart?" 

"  Leander."  said  Rachel,  suddenly.  *l  I  have  heard  of 
Hannah  Mills  through  one  of  the  Lokers.  Miss  Alvira 
Loker,  you  know,  has  connections  in  Tonawanda.  She 
calls  Hannah  a  real  good  Christian  girl,  and  if  Mark 
has  taken  a  liking  to  her  I  am  glad.  He  needs  just 
such  a  wife  as  she  would  make  him.  Mark  is  all  spirit 
— he  forgets  he  has  a  body  to  be  taken  care  of.  I  saw 
that  plain  enough  when  he.  was  here  two  months  ago. 
He  was  pale  and  thin  and  had  a  hacking  cough  on  him. 
No  wonder,  catching  cold  every  little  while  and  never 
taking  anything  for  it.  Riding  for  miles  wet  to  the 
skin,  and  then  preaching,  and  then  off 'again  to  hold 
another  service  somewhere  else.  He  wants  somebody 
to  see  to  him,  that  he  don't  break  down  in  a  consump- 
tion before  his  work  is  half  done;  to  lecture  him  every 
time  he  forgets  to  wear  an  overcoat  or  tie  up  his  throat; 
to  insist  on  his  taking  a  hot  drink  after  he  has  been  out 
in  the  wet  and  cold,  and  see  that  his  flannels  are  in 
order,  and  a  thousand  and  one  things  that  only  a  wife 
can  do  for  him — a  plain,  sensible  Christian  woman  that 


HOLDEK  WITH  COKI>S. 

will  glory  in  his  usefulness  and  share  his  love  for  souls, 
and  yet  be  a  practical,  common-sense  adviser  in  all  the 
ordinary  affairs  of  -life.  Mark  is  all  spirituality  and 
ideality  and  heroism  and  what  not,  and  I  consider  it  a 
beneficent  arrangement  of  Providence  that  such  men 
are  usually  attracted  to  their  opposites." 

"  Dear  me,  Rachel,"  I  said,  "you  talk  as  if  the  whole 
matter  was  prearranged.  Mark  hasn't  even  mentioned 
Hannah  Mills  in  this  letter." 

"  Precisely  the  circumstance  that  adds  weight  to  my 
suspicions,"  answered  Rachel,  briskly.  "If  he  had 
mentioned  her  I  should  think  there  was  nothing  in  it. 
You  don't  know  everything,  Leander." 

And  Rachel,  who  I  must  confess  had  in  her  secret 
heart  a  little  of  that  love  of  matchmaking  not  uncom- 
mon in  happily  married  wives,  smiled  with  the  pleasant 
complacency  of  superior  knowledge,  while  I  only 
uttered  that  sage  and  safe  remark  appropriate  to  all 
conditions  of  mortal  uncertainty,  u  We  shall  see." 

At  the  very  time  this  conversation  occurred,  Mark 
Stedrnan  was  traveling  on  his  circuit  through  woods 
just  leafing  out  with  the  emerald  hues  of  spring,  and 
thinking  over  the  subject  on  which  he  intended  to 
preach  when  he  reached  his  destination,  a  lonely  school 
house  where  meetings  were  held  at  stated  periods.  He 
rode  slowly,  occasionally  referring  to  his  pocket  Bible 
for  some  text,  a  kind  of  holy  rapture  filling  his  soul  as 
he  thought  of  the  grandeur  of  the  struggle  before  him 
and  the  joys  of  that  final  victory  when  the  kingdoms 
of  this  world  should  become  the  kingdoms  of  our  Lord 
and  of  his  Christ — when  every  refuge  of  lies  should  be 
swept  away  and  that  embodiment  of  Satanic  power  and 
malice,  the  man  of  sin  to  which  the  New  Testament 


MARK   AND   HANNAH.  273 

writers  point  in  dim  and  awful  prophecy,  should  be  for- 
ever destroyed  in  the  brightness  of  his  glorious  second 
coming.  For  to  such  a  mind  as  Mark's,  things  unseen 
and  eternal  have  a  palpable  reality  impossible  to  com- 
prehend by  any  soul  that  lingers  outside  the  pale  of  a 
full  consecration.  As  he  rode  along  intent  on  the 
message  he  was  to  deliver,  earth  seemed  nothing  and 
less  than  nothing;  God  and  his  eternal  truth,  every- 
thing. 

Suddenly  a  shot  split  the  air  fired  from  the  thicket 
through  which  Mark  was  passing.  It  took  effect, 
wounding  him  in  the  arm.  Another  and  another  fol- 
lowed in  quick  succession  but  the  flash  and  report  so 
frightened  his  horse  that  it  needed  no  spurring  but 
broke  at  once  into  a  furious  run,  and  the  second  and 
third  balls  whizzed  harmlessly  past. 

Providence  doubtless  ordered  that  the  affair  should 
happen  near  Tonawanda,  and  that  when  his  trembling 
horse  finally  stopped,  reeking  with  foam,  it  was  close 
by  Mr.  Jedediah  Mills'  gate.  His  injury  proved  to  be  a 
flesh  wound  and  nothing  very  serious,  but  he  had  to 
submit  to  considerable  dressing  and  bandaging  for  a 
few  days,  during  which  time  his  resolution  was  taken 
to  do  what  he  had  more  than  once  half  resolved  upon 
doing  in  some  of  his  lonely  rides,  and  then  abandoned 
as  too  great  a  sacrifice  to  require  of  the  woman  he 
loved — ask  Hannah  Mills  if  in  deed  and  in  truth  she 
was  willing  to  be  the  wife  of  a  poor  circuit  preachei 
who  felt  it  his  mission  to  take  side  with  every  unpop- 
ular reform,  and  preach  all  sorts  of  unpalatable  truths, 
and  whom  the  world  would  frown  upon  accordingly, 
reserving  its  smiles  for  those  prophets  who  prophesy 
unto  it  smooth  things;  who  moreover  was  now  engaged 


274  HOLDER  WITH  CORDS. 

in  deadly  conflict  with  an  unsparing  foe  sworn  to  per- 
secute him  to  the  death — would  she,  knowing  all  these 
things,  consent  to  share  his  lot? 

I  happen  to  know  Hannah's  answer.  It  came  in  the 
words  of  a  certain  old  Hebrew  idyl  which  has  stood  for 
ages  and  will  stand  while  time  lasts  as  the  epitome  of 
that  self-sacrificing  devotion  which  shrinks  from  no 
trial  with  the  loved  one  at  its  side. 

And  so  Hannah  Mills  became  Hannah  Stedman,  the 
elder's  wife;  and  in  process  of  time  KachePs  wish  was 
realized  in  that  unlocked  for  way  in  which  our  wishes 
so  often  become  prophecies,  by  their  eventually  occupy- 
ing the  very  cottage  from  which  we  had  moved  on  our 
grandfather's  death. 

As  for  Rachel,  she  would  scarcely  have  been  human 
if  she  had  never  once  said,  "  I  told  you  so." 


CHAPTER  XXX. 


MASONIC   SLANDER.— THE    ENGAGEMENT. — RATTLESNAKE 
CORNER. 

S  soon  as  we  heard  of  the  attack  on  Mark 
I  started  off  for  Tonawanda.     It  was  not 
likely  the  actual  perpetrators  of  the  out- 
rage would  ever  be  known,  but  there  was 
no  reasonable  doubt  that  they  were  tools 
of  the  lodge  whose  first  plot  to  silence  his 
fearless  testimony  had  so  signally  miscarried 
-thanks  to  Sam  Toller. 

At  one  of  the  stopping  places  on  the  way  an 
incident  occurred  so  strongly  illustrative  of  that  spirit 
in  Masonry  which  a  distinguished  seceder  and  writer 
on  the  subject  has  justly  denominated  "  infernal,"  that 
I  cannot  forbear  transcribing  it. 

A  man  well  dressed,  but  with  a  general  mingling  of 
the  fumes  of  whisky  and  tobacco  about  his  person 
rather  too  strong  to  be  agreeable,  stood  leaning  against 
the  bar  apparently  on  the  lookout  for  an  acquaintance, 
which  he  finally  recognized  in  a  thin-visaged,  nervous- 
looking  individual  with  an  umbrella  and  big  carpet 
bag.  The  latter  returned  his  salute  with  a  rather 
slight  nod  and  cool  "How  d'ye  do?" — but  the  other 
was  of  a  class  not  eas}'  to  snub. 


HOLDEN  WITH   CORD&. 

"  Going  to  put  up  at  Greene's?'1  he  inquired,  famil- 
iarly. 

"  I  was  calculating  to,"  responded  the  one  interro- 
gated. 

"  Maybe  it's  none  of  my  business,"  resumed  the 
other,  with  the  air  of  a  person  obliged  to  say  disagree- 
able things  at  the  call  of  duty, u  but  if  I  did  as  I  would 
like  to  be  done  by,  [  should  tell  you  that  Greene's  tav- 
ern ain't  a  good  place  for  travelers  that  have  anything 
valuable  about  them.  If  I  was  obliged  to  put  up  there 
I  should  sleep  with  one  eye  open." 

The  nervous  looking  man  glanced  toward  his  carpet 
bag  as  if  he  saw  it  already  in  possession  of  unlawful 
hands,  and  answered  in  a,  slow,  appalled  way,  uYou 
don't  say  so.  Why  now  I  had  no  idea  the  Park  Tavern 
was  such  a  place,  but  I  guess  I'll  go  on  to  the  next 
stand ;  it  won't  be  much  further.  I  declare,  there's  no 
knowing  who  to  trust  now-a-days."  And  depositing 
his  umbrella  carefully  between  his  legs  he  sat  down  in 
a  remote  corner  apparently  absorbed  in  mournful  re- 
flections on  the  general  wickedness  of  the  world. 

"  Well,  now,"  put  in  the  landlord,  who  was  standing 
behind  the  bar,  making  some  entries  in  his  book,  u  I 
must  say  I  am  surprised  to  hear  that.  I  always  sup- 
posed Greene  kept  a  pretty  nice  house." 

UI  reckon  after  you  had  a  bran  new  ten-dollar  horse 
blanket  taken  from  you  as  a  neighbor  of  mine  did  that 
put  up  there  last  winter,  you  wouldn't  think  so,  land- 
lord. The  fact  is  Greene's  tavern  is  getting  to  be 
really  a  disreputable  place  to  stop  at,  and  I  only  do  as 
my  conscience  tells  me  to  in  warning  any  traveler  that 
I  happen  to  know  against  going  there." 

It  is  needless  to  say  that  my  blood  fairly  boiled  with 


MASONIC   SLANDER.  277 

indignation  while  I  listened  to  ohese  base  calumnies, 
knowing  so  well  their  foul  origin.  Should  I  remain 
silent  and  let  this  thing  in  human  semblance  spit  out 
his  vile  venom  without  reproof  or  contradiction? 
Never. 

"  I  know  Mr.  Greene  to  be  a  Christian  and  a  gentle- 
man;1' I  said,  turning  to  the  man  of  conscience.  "This 
is  the  first  time  I  ever  heard  that  travelers'  things  were 
not  safe  at  his  house.'' 

My  words  had  a  somewhat  similar  effect  to  poking  a 
venomous  snake  with  a  stick. 

The  -stranger  reddened  with  rage,  and  answered 
fiercely,  "  Do  you  tell  me  then  that  I  lie?" 

"  No,"  I  responded,  quietly,  "  I  hope  you  are  only 
misinformed.  But  I  repeat  what  I  said,  Mr.  Greene 
has  always  borne  a  character  above  reproach;  and  it  is 
certainly  strange  that  no  stories  to  the  discredit  of  his 
house  were  ever  circulated  till  the  Morgan  affair  hap- 
pened." 

"Good  now;  111  go  sides  with  ye,"  interrupted  a 
voice  behind  me.  u  I'd  a  blamed  sight  rather  be  him 
than  the  men  that  will  steal  their  own  blankets  and 
then  turn  round  and  prosecute  him.  Or  the  men  either 
that  would  take  his  poor  dog,  cut  its  throat  from  ear  to 
ear  and  drown  it  at  low  water  mark.  When  I  get 
kinder  riled  up  about  such  doings  I  pick  out  a  psalm  of 
David  and  read  it — about  Doeg  the  Edomite,  or  Gush 
the  Benjaminite,  or  some  other  of  them  rascally  chaps 
that  he  is  always  praying  to  be  delivered  from.  There's 
one  verse  in  particular — 4  His  mischief  shall  return 
upon  his  own  head  and  his  violent  dealings  upon  his 
own  pate,'  that  does  me  as  much  good  to  think  of  as  it 
ever  did  to  eat  my  victuals." 


278  HOLDER  WITH  COEDS. 

And  my  new-found  ally,  who  proved  to  my  surprise 
to  be  the  jocular  man  introduced  to  the  reader  on  a 
previous  occasion  resumed  his  seat,  and  taking  a  jack- 
knife  from  his  pocket  proceeded  to  coolly  pare  an  apple 
and  cut  it  in  even  quarters,  which  he  stowed  away  in 
his  capacious  mouth  with  the  utmost  ease. 

Physical  bulk  and  strength  is  something,  decry  it  as 
we  may,  for  there  is  a  certain  class  of  men  who  will  pay 
respect  to  nothing  else.  The  jocular  man  stood  over 
six  feet  in  his  stockings,  and  had  chest  and  limbs  of 
herculean  breadth  and  power.  The  other  looked  as 
much  at  a  disadvantage  as  a  terrier  before  a  big  New- 
foundland dog,  and  did  not  choose,  for  prudent  reasons, 
to  turn  011  him  in  the  same  threatening,  bullying  fash- 
ion in  which  he  had  turned  on  me.  So  he  contented 
himself  with  a  few  muttered  words  in  reply  and  sneaked 
off,  probably  to  play  the  same  small  game  of  detraction 
and  calumny  somewhere  else. 

Nothing  was  altered  at  Mr.  Jedediah  Mill's.  The 
same  air  of  comfort  and  thrift;  the  same  kitchen  with 
its  scoured  floor,  its  flag-bottomed,  straight-backed 
chairs  and  homely  hospitality;  the  same  u  best  room  " 
with  a  sampler  Hannah  had  wrought  in  her  girlhood, 
hanging  over  the  high,  black  mantle,  and  such  books 
as  Rollins'  Ancient  History,  Watts  on  the  Mind  and 
Baxter's  Saints'  Rest  standing  in  solemn  rows  on  the 
shelves  of  the  bookcase,  yet  over  it  all  rested  the  shadow 
of  a  brooding  trouble  as  a  thundercloud  overhangs  a 
fair  landscape. 

It  Avas  visible  in  Mrs.  Mill's  dejected  face,  in  her 
husband's  whitening  hairs  and  even  in  the  smile  with 
which  Hannah  greeted  me  when  I  came  to  the  door, 
for  it  was  that  pathetic  kind  of  a  smile  which  Old  Sor- 


THE  ENGAGEMENT.  279 

row  and  New  Happiness  are  apt  to  wear  before  they 
have  had  time  to  make  each  other's  acquaintance. 
Light  and  shadow,  joy  and  grief !  Wisely  has  Provi- 
dence mingled  the  cup  as  we  shall  all  know  when  we 
reach  those  love-illumined  heights  that  rise  beyond  the 
mists  of  time  and  death;  as  many  of  us  come  to  realize 
even  here  when  some  thorny  trial  blossoms  into  a  rich 
red  rose  of  blessing,  and  "  Thy  will  be  done  "  grows 
suddenly  easy  to  say — so  easy  that  we  wonder  it  was 
ever  hard. 

For  Hannah's  parents  were  well  suited  with  her 
choice,  though  in  a  worldly  sense  they  knew  she  might 
have  done  better.  They  reverenced  the  young  preacher 
with  his  slight  frame,  his  burning  ardor  and  devotion 
in  his  Master's  cause,  almost  like  an  angelic  messenger, 
and  the  recent  assault  upon  him  had  naturally  intensi- 
fied the  feeling  by  surrounding  him  with  not  a  little  of 
that  homage  with  which,  reasonably  or  otherwise,  the 
best  portion  of  humanity  are  apt  to  regard  one  who  has 
come  very  near  being  enrolled  in  the  noble  army  o£ 
martyrs. 

Good  Mrs.  Mills,  with  pleasant  garrulousness,  told 
me  the  whole  story  of  the  courtship  before  I  had  been 
in  the  house  twenty-four  hours. 

u  Father  has  been  real  down  in  the  mouth  since  this 
trouble  come  onto  us  about  our  farm.  You  see  he's  a 
man  that  won't  give  up  a  grain  to  injustice.  He's  al- 
ways said  he'd  fight  it  out  to  the  end  if  it  took  every 
dollar  he  had,  for  l  if  I  give  'em  an  inch,'  says  he, 
4  they'll  take  an  ell,  and  then  whafc  am  I  better  off  ?' 
It  was  two  or  three  days  after  Mark  was  shot  that 
father  was  sitting  over  the  fire  in  one  of  his  low  spells, 
and  I  was  trying  to  chirk  him  up  a  little  by  talking 


280  HOLDER  WITH  CORDS. 

about  the  old  times  before  we  were  married,  and  asking 
him  if  he  remembered  the  first  night  we  walked  home 
from  the  singing  school  together,  and  how  he  walked 
in  one  rut  and  I  in  the  othef  because  we  were  too  bash- 
ful to  lock  arms;  but  I  couldn't  get  a  smile  onto  his 
face.  And  just  then  the  door  opened,  and  father,  he 
kinder  started  up,  for  there  was  Mark  and  Hannah, 
looking  as  happy  as  though  they  had  just  stepped  out 
of  Paradise.  And  I  lay  down  my  knitting,  for  I  see 
what  was  coming,  and  I  wondered  how  father  would 
take  it.  Hannah  stepped  up  and  put  her  arms  around 
his  neck,  and  give  a  little  sob;  and  then  father  seemed 
to  understand  it  at  last.  He  looked  from  Mark  to  Han- 
nah, and  says  he,  *  You  know  I  am  a  poor  man  now, 
I  can't  give  you  any  setting  out.'  And  then  Mark 
spoke  up,  and  says  he,  '  We  only  want  your  consent 
and  blessing.  Hannah's  wedding  portion  is  in  herself, 
and  its  value  is  far  above  rubies.  I  have  told  her  what 
to  expect  if  she  marries  me,  but  she  is  willing  to  try 
it.1  And  fathei  gave  his  consent  right  off  and  seemed 
to  cheer  up  wonderfully^  so  that  I  told  Hannah  after- 
wards, 1 1  hain't  seen  your  father  so  like  himself  since 
he  begun  to  have  this  lawsuit.'  And  though  I  do  say 
it  of  my  own  daughter,  Hannah  will  make  a  first-rate 
minister's  wife.  She  is  just  cut  out  for  it.  She'll  turn 
off  work,  baking  or  churning  or  spinning,  and  you 
wonder  how  she  gets  so  much  done  with  so  little  fuss; 
and  then  she  will  be  all  ready  to  go  and  watch  with 
somebody  that's  sick.  I  tell  folks  she  is  just  like  her 
Aunt  Eunice  " — 

•But  I  forbear,  remembering  that  the  reader's  interest 
will  not  be  likely  to  extend  as  far  as  Aunt  Eunice. 

The  marriage  was  to  take  place  in  a  few  months,  for 


THE   ENGAGEMENT.  281 

as  Mark  said,  neither  of  them  wanted  a  long  engage- 
ment. They  were  eager  to  enter  upon  their  life  work 
together.  The  time  was  short  at  best.  Why  should 
they  make  it  any  shorter  by  unnecessary  delay? 

Of  course  the  reader  of  either  sex  who  looks  upon 
matrimony  as  an  affair  largely  made  up  of  bank  stocks, 
diamond  rings  and  elaborate  trousseaus  will  have  no 
patience  with  such  an  uncalculating  young  couple;  and 
I  fear  that  no  excuse  can  be  made  for  their  verdancy 
which  will  be  accepted  in  such  quarters. 

The  fact  was,  Hannah  Mills  was  not  only  "  cut  out 
to  be  a  minister's  wife,"  but  she  was  cut  out  to  be  the 
helpmeet  of  a  poor  and  unpopular  minister,  whose 
mission  led  him  in  the  ways  of  Elijah  and  Ezekiel,  and 
other  old  reformers,  to  the  great  detriment  of  his 
worldly  prospects.  And  when  she  accepted  Mark  she 
simply  accepted  her  vocation. 

Mark  accompanied  me  home  to  Brownsville  as  the 
best  way  to  convince  Rachel  that  he  had  not  been  seri- 
ously hurt,  for  the  report  had  reached  us,  as  reports 
generally  do,  in  so  exaggerated  a  form  as  to  rouse  all 
her  sisterly  anxiety 

He  wanted  to  call  at  the  Park  Tavern,  however,  be- 
fore he  left,  and  Mr.  Mills,  having  an  errand  in  the  di- 
rection of  Batavia,  the  latter  took  us  in  his  farm  wagon 
as  far  as  the  outskirts  of  the  village,  where  he  dropped 
us  and  we  proceeded  the  remaining  distance  on  foot. 

Batavia  was  now  in  its  normal  condition,  a  busy  but 
seemingly  peaceful  community.  I  was  thinking  of  the 
very  different  aspect  it  had  worn  on  my  first  visit  when 
we  heard  a  confused  shout  from  a  rabble  of  men  and 
boys  in  the  distance  that  did  not  sound  exactly  like 
"  mad  dog,"  though  the  cry  partook  somewhat  of  that 


282  HOLDER  WITH  COEDS. 

character,  An  instant  after  a  window  opened  and  a 
woman  called  loudly  to  a  little  tow-head  making  mud 
pies  underneath:  tk  Charles  Henry,  come  into  the 
house  this  minute,  or  you'll  get  bit.'1 

The  alarm,  whatever  its  cause,  seemed  to  spread  with 
electric  rapidity.  There  was  a  general  banging  of 
doors  and  windows,  while  frightened  women,  in  all. 
stages  of  dishabille  rushed  out  frantically  calling  in 
their  children  as  if  they  were  menaced  by  some  fearful 
danger. 

"  What  is  the  matter?"  we  stopped  to  ask  of  one, 
the  mother  of  the  Charles  Henry  aforesaid — for  that 
young  gentleman  was  too  delightfully  engaged  to  heed 
at  once  the  maternal  call,  and  was  now  being  dragged 
unceremoniously  into  the  house  in  a  smsill  skirmish  of 
slaps  and  kicks. 

u  Why,  hain't  you  heard  about  it?  It's  awful. 
Twenty  or  thirty  rattlesnakes  loose  right  here  in  the 
village!  You'd  better  take  care  of  yourselves.*' 

And  so  saying  she  disappeared  with  her  contuma- 
cious young  scion,  while  Mark  and  I  looked  around  us 
for  some  weapon  of  defense.  For  though  rattlesnakes 
had  ceased  to  be  indigenous  to  the  soil  of  Western  New 
York,  they  were  not  infrequently  killed  in  remote  or 
newly  settled  places,  and  many  an  old  hunter  could  tell 
yarns  quite  sufficient  to  make  the  hair  rise  on  the  most 
unbelieving — how  it  fascinated  its  victim  with  circles 
of  ever-changing  light  and  color,  mingling  and  melt- 
ing, melting  and  mingling,  with  a  low,  throbbing 
music,  sweet  as  the  song  of  the  Syrens,  till  the  fatal 
spell  was  broken  at  last  by  its  fangs  in  his  flesh  and 
the  creeping  chill  of  death  at  his  heart. 

Several  men  and  boys  ran  past  us  to  join  the  rapidly 


RATTLESNAKE  CORNER.  283 

nearing  crowd,  armed  with  every  imaginable  weapon 
from  hickory  clubs  to  brickbats  and  fire-shovels,  and 
we  heard  the  name  of  Greene  mingled  with  threats  and 
execrations  as  if  he  were  in  some  way  responsible  for 
the  escape  of  the  reptiles. 

;i  This  is  only  another  Masonic  outrage  on  Mr. 
Greene;"  said  Murk,  suddenly,  dropping  the  stout 
sappling  which  he  was  trimming.  "I  don't  believe 
there  are  any  rattlesnakes  about.  See,  they've  stopped 
at  the  Park  Tavern  and  are  pouring  into  his  yard. 
Come,  Leander;  we  must  see  this  affair  through.  I 
know  a  back  way  that  we  can  take  so  as  to  avoid  mix- 
ing with  all  that  rabble." 

Accordingly  I  followed  Mark  u  the  back  way  "  and 
we  entered  the  public  room  of  the  tavern  just  as  a  part 
of  the  mob,  their  search  for  stray  rattlesnakes  in  Mr. 
Greene's  yard  and  outbuildings  having  apparently  been 
fruitless,  carried  the  hunt  into  the  house,  loading  its 
proprietor  with  every  vile  epithet.  But  the  latter  met 
them  with  cool  self-possession.  He  had  been  under 
the  fire  of  the  lodge  too  often  to  show  any  surprise  or 
trepidation  at  this  new  form  of  attack,  arid  there  was 
even  a  suppressed  humor  lurking  about  his  mouth  as  if 
he -saw  a  comical  side  to  the  affair. 

"  Gentlemen  " — and  I  remember  how  his  clear,  full 
voice  sounded  above  the  uproar;  a  voice  I  was  destined 
to  hear  afterwards  from  the  platform  as  he  told  the 
story  of  Morgan  to  listening  crowds,  and  faced  mobs 
with  the  same  calm,  heroic  bearing  with  which  he  now 
met  the  daily  outrage  and  insults  to  which  he  was  sub- 
jected— "  the  snakes  are  all  safe  in  their  box.  Who- 
ever said  they  had  escaped  spread  a  false  report.  I  beg 
you  will  be  content  with  this  assurance  and  disperse," 


284  HOLDER  WITH  CORDS. 

"  Do  you  think  we  will  take  your  word  for  it,  you 
cussed,  perjured  villain  ?"  responded  the  foremost  one, 
who  seemed  to  be  full  not  only  of  the  spirit  of  the 
lodge  but  the  spirit  of  whisky,  and  who  as  I  afte'rwards 
learned  had  done  a  good  deal  of  false  swearing  as  a 
witness  in  the  Morgan  trials.  And  he  brandished  his 
club  threateningly  near  to  Mr.  Greene's  face,  but  the 
latter  did  not  abate  one  atom  of  his  cool,  dignified 
bearing. 

"  You  are  not  obliged  to  take  my  word  for  it.  I  can 
easily  send  for  the  man  who  asked  leave  to  store  the 
box  in  my  granary.  He  can  certify  that  not  one  of  the 
snakes  has  got  loose." 

"  I've  seen  the  box  myself  and  it  is  all  right;"  spoke 
up  the  bar-tender.  "  Do  you  suppose  I  would  be  such 
a  precious  fool  as  to  stay  here,  if  I  knew  any  such  var- 
mints were  crawling  about?" 

This  argument  was  rather  unanswerable,  especially 
as  another  man,  a  lodger  at  the  Park  Tavern,  added  his 
own  assurance  to  the  same  effect.  And  after  a  little 
more  abuse  of  Mr.  Greene  the  rioters — for  such  they 
were — finding  their  game  was  likely  to  be  a  losing  one, 
departed. 

The  court  was  then  sitting,  Batavia  being  a  county 
town,  and  the  explanation  of  this  whole  scene  consisted 
in  the  fact  that  one  of  the  witnesses  in  a  forthcoming 
trial  had  a  box  of  rattlesnakes  with  him  which  he  was 
taking  to  a  man  in  New  York. 

He  accordingly  asked  storage-room  for  it  during  the 
period  of  his  stay  at  the  Park  Tavern.  This  was  a 
grand  opportunity  for  Mr.  Greene's  enemies  of  the 
lodge  to  spread  a  general  panic  through  the  village 


RATTLESNAKE  CORNER.  285 

and  frighten  away  his  custom  by  a  report  that  the 
snakes  had  broken  loose. 

He  greeted  Mark  and  I  with  a  smile  as  untroubled 
as  if  he  had  just  been  waited  on  by  some  flattering 
committee  who  wanted  to  make  him  their,  political 
nominee;  and  his  only  reference  to  the  scene  that  had 
passed  was  in  these  few  quiet  words  as  he  took  us  into 
a  small  apartment  adjoining  the  public  room: 

u  You  have  only  seen  one  specimen  of  the  many 
ways  in  which  the  Masons  are  trying  to  ruin  my  busi- 
ness here  in  Batavia.  I  presume  they  will  accomplish 
their  end.  My  only  comfort  is  that  God  rules  in 
Heaven;  a  God  of  infinite  justice,  who  has  promised  to 
hear  the  cry  of  the  oppressed.  To  him  I  submit  my 
cause." 

Grand,  simple-hearted  Christian  hero,  thy  wrongs 
were  never  righted  on  earth,  but  none  the  less  sure  the 
overthrow  of  every  dark;  unrighteous  system  of  false- 
hood for  whose  destruction  souls  under  the  altar,  that 
have  shed  their  blood  in  the  cause  of  truth,  cry  contin- 
ually, "  0,  Lord,  how  long!11 

Readers  who  may  desire  a  proof  that  I  am  relating 
fact  and  not  fiction,  know  that  in  the  goodly  village  of 
Batavia  there  is  a  certain  locality  called  by  the  towns- 
people to  this  day  in  memory  of  the  foregoing  occur- 
rence, RATTLESNAKE  CORNER. 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

NEW  SCENES  AND   OLD   PACES. 

rET  the  reader  imagine  me  a  necromancer 
whose  magic  wand,  waved  lightly  over 
him,  has  the  power  of  putting  him  to 
sleep  for  about  forty  years;  for  though 
a  great  many  things  may  happen  in  that 
period  of  time  very  interesting  to  the  world 
at  large,  to  say  nothing  of  minor  events 
equally  interesting  in  a  smaller  way  to  the  in- 
dividual, none  of  which  would  be  omitted  by  a 
conscientious  historian  or  a  careful  biographer,  I  am 
neither  the  one  nor  the  other.  I  am  simply  telling  the 
story  of  my  experience  with  Freemasonry;  and  if,  when 
nearly  all  the  States  passed  laws  prohibiting  extra- 
judicial  oaths,  and  the  churches  of  Christ  everywhere 
disfellowshipped  adhering  Masons,  the  institution  had 
actually  died  down  as  it  feigned  to  do  I  should  proba- 
bly make  this  my  concluding  chapter,  or,  what  is  more 
likely,  not  have  written  any  story  at  all,  preferring 
to  let  the  dead  bury  its  dead  in  decent  oblivion. 

But  the  wounded  dragon  of  Masonry  did  not  yield 
up  its  life  so  easily.  At  the  South,  under  cover  of  the 
night-dark  wing  of  slavery  it  hid  in  shame  and  dishon- 
or, to  slowly  recover  from  its  grievous  hurt,  and  finally 


NEW  SCENES  AND  OLD  FACES.  287 

creep  forth  again  into  the  light — not  always  under  its 
true  name — while  brave  men  and  women,  fighting  with 
tongue  and  pen  for  the  freedom  of  the  slave  never 
dreamed  what  chains  were  forging  in  secret,  or  how  in 
their  own  free  North  the  time  would  come  when  under 
the  intimidating  power  of  the  lodge  men  dared  not 
freely  discuss  its  claims;  when  editors  of  religious 
journals  would  refuse,  in  their  craven  fear  of  losing 
patronage,  to  publish  articles  against  it;  and  even  the 
Christian  ministers,  while  hating  it  at  heart,  should  be 
afraid — Oh,  shame! — actually  afraid  to  stand  up  in  the 
pulpit  and  speak  God's  truth  concerning  it. 

But  in  passing  over  such  an  interim  of  time  there 
must  necessarily  be  many  scattered  threads,  which  it 
behooves  me  to  gather  up  and  knit  in  one  general 
whole  before  I  proceed  further. 

Of  the  scores  of  persons  actually  participating  in  the 
murder  of  Morgan  or  consenting  thereto,  only  five 
were  convicted.  Loton  Lawson  was  sentenced  to  two 
years'  imprisonment.  Nicholas  Gr.  Cheesboro  to  one 
and  Eli  Bruce,  Edward  Sawyer  and  John  Whitney  to 
varying  terms  of  one  month  or  more,  and  this  was  all 
that  resulted  from  four  years1  trials  and  investigations. 

That  these  men  were  considered  by  their  brethren  of 
the  lodge,  not  as  convicted  felons  but  as  martyrs  to  the 
Masonic  cause  may  be  inferred  from  the  fact  that  they 
remained  in  full  fellowship  therewith  as  members  in 
good  and  regular  standing;  that  they  were  visited  daily 
while  in  jail  by  their  Masonic  brethren,  in  many  cases 
accompanied  by  their  wives  and  daughters;  that  they 
were  furnished  with  every  luxury  money  could  pro- 
cure, and  when  their  term  was  up  escorted  from  prison 
in  triumph.  But  0,  most  benevolent  Masonry,  where 


288  HOLDEN  WITH  CORDS. 

were  thy  bowels  of  compassion  for  many  an  unfortun- 
ate brother  confined  within  those  very  walls,  not  for 
kidnapping  and  murder,  but  for  debt? 

Darius  Fox  came  unexpectedly  back  to  Brownsville 
about  a  year  after  his  sudden  flight — nowise  improved 
by  his  stay  among  the  wild  and  reckless  characters  of 
the  western  frontier.  Why  he  chose  to  run  the  risk 
of  returning;  whether  he  had  been  led  to  believe  that 
all  danger  of  conviction  was  over,  or  whether  his  course 
was  dictated  by  mere  braggadocio,  is  move  than  I  can 
say.  But  he  talked  swaggeringly  about  having  u  come 
back  to  stand  his  trial,"  and  had  his  small  circle  of  ad- 
mirers, who  surrounded  him  in  store  and  tavern,  and 
praised  and  cheered  him  as  if  he  had  done  a  very  brave 
and  plucky  thing  in  returning. 

Perhaps  he  had  overlooked  the  possibility  that  some 
of  his  associates  in  evil  might  turn  State's  evidence 
against  him.  A  few  days  after  his  unexpected  appear- 
ance in  Brown  sville^ne  of  the  men  convicted  of  ab- 
ducting Morgan  gave  testimony  in  regard  to  his  own 
share  in  that  transaction  that  would  inevitably  have 
consigned  him  to  a  felon's  cell  had  he  not  been  found 
dead  the  next  morning.  The  cause  of  his  sudden 
death  was  said  to  be  apoplexy,  though  a  story  never 
exactly  authenticated  was  whispered  about  and  believed 
by  many  in  Brownsville  that  he  had  really  hung  him- 
self in  a  moment  when  remorse  and  fear  of  punishment 
so  acted  on  a  mind  unbalanced  by  drink  as  to  drive  him 
to  self-destruction;  and  his  family,  to  avoid  the  dishonor 
attaching  to  the  name  of  suicide,  had  attempted  to 
cover  up  the  fact  by  ascribing  his  untimely  end  to  a 
cause  which  was  not  the  true  one. 

But  whether  he  met  death  by  his  own  hand  or  in  the 


KEW  SOEKES   AKD  OLD  FACES.  289 

common  orderings  of  Providence,  Darius  Fox  went  to 
his  own  place,  where,  in  the  course  of  years,  all  his 
companions  in  crime  followed  him;  into  that  dim 
eternity  towards  which  the  evil  and  the  righteous  are 
alike  hastening,  where  the  deeds  done  in  the  body  are 
either  angel's  wmgs  ever  raising  us  higher  in  the  scale 
of  purified  being,  or  weights  sinking  us  deeper  and 
deeper  into  the  pit  of  final  despair. 

For  three  years  the  proprietor  of  the  Park  Tavern 
tried  to  carry  on  his  business  in  the  face  of  wrongs  and 
outrages  that  in  number  and  petty  malignity  fell  to 
the  lot  of  no  other  Antimason  of  those  days.  Hear  his 
own  words  on  the  subject: 

u  My  help  was  hired  to  leave  me;  others  sent  who 
after  being  hired  would  get  in  debt  and  prove  unfaith- 
ful. Sham  sales  of  stage  horses  would  be  made  to  un- 
principled drivers  who  would  keep  their  horses  at  my 
house  on  usual  contracts,  and  when  a  quarterly  bill 
was  presented  against  the  ostensible  owner  it  would  be 
shoved  off  upon  the  driver,  who  was  irresponsible  and 
would  abscond;  or,  if  sued,  pay  the  debt  on  the  jail 
limits.  Merchants  with  whom  I  had  dealt  would  di- 
vide my  accounts  and  sue  me  on  each  day's  trade,  caus- 
ing me  to  pay  unnecessary  costs." 

Nor  did  they  stop  short  at  personal  violence,  as  wit- 
ness his  further  testimony: 

"  My  furniture  was  injured,  and  in  my  attempts  to 
save  it  from  destruction  I  have  been  choked  in  my  own 
house  till  my  family  were  alarmed  lest  my  life  should 
be  taken.  All  this  was  done  with  the  avowed  inten- 
tion of  tempting  me  to  commit  assault  and  battery,  or 
seek  redress  by  law  suit  that  they  might  avail  them- 
selves o£  the  law  to  destroy  me  effectually." 


290  HOLDEN  WITH  CORDS. 

The  fight  was  too  unequal.  What  chance  had  one 
man,  however  just  his  cause,  against  hundreds  working 
in  secret  conclave  to  accomplish  his  ruin?  Mr,  Greene 
disposed  of  his  business  in  Batavia.  and  as  a  public 
lecturer  did  more,  perhaps,  than  any  other  man  to  en- 
lighten the  public  mind  on  the  real  nature  of  Freema- 
sonry. 

Undaunted  by  opposition,  undismayed  by  danger, 
though  he  once  came  very  near  sharing  the  fate  of 
Morgan,  he  kept  on  his  way.  lecturing,  editing,  pub- 
lishing, side  by  side  with  a  young  man,  Lloyd  Garrison 
by  name,  who  had  just  heard  the  bugle-call  to  another 
conflict  which  was  destined  ere  long  to  be  the  one  great 
absorbing  issue  that  should  swallow  up  all  others. 

The  Liberator  and  the  Antimasonic  Christian  Herald 
were  both  published  in  the  same  building  and  delivered 
by  the  same  carrier — but  while  one  waxed  and  grew 
the  other  waned  before  the  new  struggle  for  human 
rights.  And  when  a  terrible  punishment  was  at  last 
meted  out  to  us;  when  every  newspaper  was  like  the 
prophet's  scroll  written  throughout  with  mourning  and 
lamentation  and  woe;  when  Rachels  wept  their  dead 
in  Northern  and  Southern  homes  alike,  who  saw  the 
secret  hands  working  in  darkness  and  silence  to  prolong 
the  contest? 

Good  patriots  on  the  Union  side  blushed  for  the 
cowardice  and  incompetency  that  stayed  idly  in  the 
trenches  for  weeks  and  months;  that  led  hosts  of  brave 
men  to  inglorious  slaughter  or  disgraceful  flight  before 
the  enemy.  Could  they  have  kiiOAvn  that  promotion 
did  not  depend  on  bravery  or  merit,  but  on  the  number 
of  Masonic  degrees;  could  they  have  witnessed  those 
secret,  midnight  meetings  when  Northern  generals  fra~ 


NEW   SCENES   AND   OLD   FACES.  291 

ternized  with  the  enemy,  they  would  have  had  a  better 
understanding  of  the  whole  subject.  And  when  the 
guns  of  the  Rebellion  were  silenced  and  the  smoke 
cleared  away,  could  they  have  seen  delegations  from 
Northern  lodges  on  a  visit  to  Southern  cities  uniting 
in  brotherly  union  with  Knights  of  the  Golden  Circle, 
these  same  good  people  would  not  have  been  so  slow  to 
recognize,  grinning  under  the  mask  of  the  Ku  Klux, 
the  same  old  enemy  against  which  Samuel  D.Greene 
so  faithfully  warned  his  countrymen. 

He  died  on  the  threshold  of  the  on-coming  struggle 
— a  new  struggle  with  an  ancient  foe,  and  saw  not  its 
end.  Pursued  even  to  the  last  by  the  unsparing  hatred 
of  the  lodge  he  died  as  he  had  lived,  boldly  testifying 
to  1;  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus  "  against  every  "  unfruit- 
ful work  of  darkness,11  and  now  translated  into  that 
great "  cloud  of  witnesses  "  perhaps  he  does  see  the 
end  after  all. 

Bright,  mischievous  brother  Joe  married  early  in 
life  a  fair  acquaintance  of  Brownsville,  who  I  have  rea- 
son to  suspect  was  the  same  he  accompanied  home 
from  Jake  Goodwin's  party,  and  emigrated  to  Kansas 
in  the  early  stages  of  its  struggle  to  be  a  free  State, 
where  as  a  friend  and  associate  of  John  Brown  he  par- 
ticipated in  more  than  one  stirring  scene  of  that  event- 
ful era. 

Sam  Toller  has  long  since  passed  from  earth,  but 
there  is  still  a  circle,  slowly  narrowing,  who  hold  him 
in  kindly  remembrance.  • 

Luke  Thatcher  has  represented  his  native  State  in 
the  Legislature  and  is  looked  up  to  by  his  neighbors  as 
an  honest,  far-seeing  man  who  is  always  on  the  right 
side  of  every  social  and  political  question. 


292  HOLDER  WITH  CORDS. 

Mr.  Jedediah  Mills  lost  his  lawsuit  and  his  farm — a 
result  not  hard  to  predict  from  the  beginning.  Anxiety 
and  trouble  so  wore  upon  him  that  he  did  not  live  long 
after,  and  another  name  was  added  to  that  hidden  roll 
of  martyrs  to  the  lodge  which  God  keeps  in  his  secret 
place  against  the  day  "  when  he  maketh  inquisition  for 
blood." 

Mark  Stedman's  life  has  been  one  of  constant  war- 
fare with  every  prevailing  and  popular  form  of  sin. 
When  the  Antimasonic  excitement  died  away  and  even 
he  believed  that  the  lodge  had  fallen  never  to  rise 
again,  he  turned  his  attention  to  the  crime  of  American 
slavery.  At  a  time  when  the  mere  avowal  of  Aboli- 
tionist principles  cost  more  than  the  present  genera- 
tion can  readily  conceive,  he  preached,  prayed  and 
worked  for  the  emancipation  of  the  slave.  And  care- 
less of  fine  and  imprisonment,  out  of  his  own  slender 
store  he  and  his  good  wife  Hannah  sent  many  a  fugi- 
tive rejoicing  on  their  way  towards  the  North  Star — a 
work  in  which  Rachel  and  I  not  infrequently  had  the 
pleasure  of  helping,  for  both  families  left  Brownsville 
and  moved  to  Ohio  about  the  same  time,  where  we  set- 
tled in  easy  visiting  distance  of  each  other. 

We  are  a  staid,  elderly  couple  now,  Rachel  and  I, 
with  a  number  of  grandchildren  to  spoil,  and  one  or 
two  gro\vnrup  fledglings  still  lingering  about  the  home 
nest.  But  our  little  David  never  went  forth  with  sling 
and  stone  against  any  of  these  moral  Goliaths  that 
from  time  to  time  hav?  come  out  from  their  Philistine 
fastnesses  to  defy  our  American  Israel.  One  bright 
summer  day  we  laid  him  under  the  green  grass  in 
Brownsville  cemetery,  and  on  another  summer  day  as 
bright,  there  came  to  our  home  a  second  little  David, 


NEW   SCENES   AND  OLD  FACES.  293 

He  sleeps  in  his  nameless  grave  at  Antietam.  Still  an- 
other of  our  boys  donned  the  blue  and  marched  proudly 
away  to  die  by  slow  starvation  in  a  Southern  prison. 

Oh,  it  is  not  in  hours  of  joy  that  hearts  knit  together 
the  closest  and  strongest!  From  that  mighty  baptism 
of  anguish  Rachel  and  I  came  forth  united  in  the 
grand  fellowship  of  suffering  without  which  love  is 
like  gold  that  lacks  the  test  of  the  crucible. 

And  now  having  brought  my  story  down  to  Anno 
Domini,  1870  or  thereabouts,  I  take  it  for  granted  that 
the  reader  is  sufficiently  interested  to  wait  its  further 
development,  first  promising  that  the  end  is  not  far  off. 
For  with  Rachel  and  I  the  shadows  are  beginning  to 
stretch  eastward.  She  sits  shelling  beans  in  the  porch 
which  commands  a  view  of  rich  Ohio  cornfields  basking 
In  the  August  sun,  a  gray-haired,  placid-browed  matron. 
But  the  fires  of  youth  flash  s^iii  from  her  brown  eyes, 
showing  that  she  has  not  materially  altered  from  the 
quick,  imperious  Rachel  of  former  days. 

If  any  one  doubts  it  let  him  rouse  her  indignation 
by  some  act  of  meanness  or  duplicity,  and  if  he  don't 
have  cause  to  remember  that  day  as  long  as  he  lives  I 
am  very  much  mistaken. 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 

THE  MYSTEKY  OF  INIQUITY. 

ACHEL    finished    shelling  her  t  pan    of 
beans  and  carried  them  into  the  kitchen. 
Then  in  obedience  to  a  certain  thrifty 
custom  nearly  obsolete  now  but  very 
common  with  industrious  housewives  of 
a  former  generation  who  did  not  choose  to 
allow  Satan  even  so  small  a  vantage  ground 
as  a  few  idle  moments  between  sundown  and 
dark,  she  took  out  a  half-finished  sock  on  which 
her  needles  flew  briskly  till  she  had   knit  about  six 
times  around,  when  her  inward  musings  took  shape  in 
this  terse  sentence: 
"  I  don't  see  into  it." 

4(1  Don't  see  into  what,  mother?"  I  asked.  For  we 
had  now  reached  that  comfortable  stage  in  our  matri- 
monial journey  when  to  address  each  other  by  the 
parental  title  t»eems  the  most  natural  thing  in  the  world. 
"  How  Anson  Lovejoy  can  be  a  Mason.  Now  I  really 
like  the  man,  and  always  have  liked  him  from  the  very 
first.  But  when  I  find  that  he  can  take  part  in  such 
ridiculous,  blasphemous  folly,  and  be  himself  actually 
Master  of  a  lodge,  initiating  others  into  it,  I — well, 
really,  I  don't  know  what  to  think  except  that  there  is 
one  more  fool  in  the  world  than  I  had  supposed." 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  INIQUITY.  295 

And  Rachel  knit  vigorously  several  more  rounds 
while  I  pondered  the  subject  in  silence.  I  too  liked 
An  son  Lovejoy  in  spite  of  the  fact  thut  he  was  not  only 
a  Mason,  but  held  the  office  of  Worshipful  Master  of 
Fidelity  Lodge,  located  in  the  flourishing  village  of 
Granby,  Ohio;  said  lodge  numbering  among  its  mem- 
bers one  or  two  ministers,  a  saloon-keeper,  one  deacon, 
several  notorious  gamblers  and  a  general  sprinkling  of 
the  lowest  characters  in  the  place,  all  "  meeting  on  the 
level"  in  felicitous  union  and  fellowship. 

u  Well,  mother,1'  I  said,  finally, "  a  man  isn't  always 
a  fool  because  he  does  foolish  things.  The  fact  is  I've 
had  a  little  talk  with  him  on  the  subject  of  Masonry, 
and  I  have  come  to  the  conclusion  that  it  isn't  the  sys- 
tem as  it  really  is  that  he  admires,  but  an  ideal  existing 
only  in  his  own  imagination  of  something  it  might, 
could,  would  or  should  be  if  it  was  only  properly  un- 
derstood, and  more  care  exercised  in  admitting  can- 
didates; such  delightfully  impossible  conditions,  in 
short,  that  I  was  strongly  reminded  of  the  old  couplet: 

'If  wishes  were  horses  beggars  would  ride, 
If  'twas  a  sword  it  would  hang  by  your  s:de.'  " 

"  Now,  father  " — and  Rachel  laid  down  her  knitting 
in  her  earnestness — u  why  don't  you  put  it  right  to  him 
about  the  oaths  and  obligations  and  ceremonies.  You 
have  been  through  them  yourself  and  know  all  about 
it,  so  you  are  just  the  one.  What  if  this  man's  soul 
should  be  required  at  your  hands?" 

"  I  did  '  put  it  right  to  him.'  I  told  him  he  had 
sworn  to  conceal  the  criminal  acts  of  brother  Masons, 
to  warn  them  of  approaching  danger  and  help  them 
out  of  all  difficulties,  no  matter  what  wrong-doing 
might  be  the  cause.  But  he  had  one  answer  for  every 


296  HOLDER  WITH  CORDS. 

objection,  and  that  was  that  he  did  not  so  understand 
Masonry,  and  only  considered  its  obligations  binding 
when  they  failed  to  conflict  with  any  superior  duty 
that  he  owed  to  God  or  to  Government.  I  asked  him 
if  that  was  the  way  he  explained  them  to  candidates. 
He  assured  me  it  was.  I  told  him  flat  that  such  teach- 
ing of  Masonic  obligations  was  a  mistake  and  a  con- 
tradiction; that  Masonry  owns  no  law  and  no  authority 
outside  of  or  superior  to  herself;  that  when  she  ceases 
to  be  a  complete  despotism;  when  she  allows  her  mem- 
bers to  put  their  own  interpretation  on  the  oaths  and 
penalties;  above  all,  when  she  elevates  the  Bible  from 
a  mere  piece  of  lodge  furniture  on  a  level  with  the 
square  and  compass  to  be  what  the  old  Westminster 
divines  called  it  l  the  only  sufficient  rule  of  faith  and 
practice,'  her  power  has  fled.  She  simply  cannot  exist 
under  such  conditions." 

"  And  what  did  he  say  to  that?"  asked  Rachel. 

"Well,  that  fellow  Jervish  came  in  just  then  and 
broke  up  our  talk.  I  suppose  he  thinks  me  a  fool  and 
a  fanatic.  I  consider  him  an  honest,  well-meaning 
man,  whose  chief  mistake  is  in  thinking  that  he  can 
do  what  the  Scriptures  declare*  impossible — '  Bring  a 
clean  thing  out  of  an  unclean.' '' 

"Well,  I  don't  understand  it."  repeated  Rachel,  de- 
cidedly. "  There  must  be  something  wrong  somewhere 
when  a  man  can't  see  the  plain  truth  put  right  before 
him." 

For  Rachel  was  like  'most  practical,  matter-of-fact 
people,  not  subject  to  glamours  of  any  sort.  When 
she  saw  a  truth  she  saw  it  clearly — a  sun-illumined 
mount  of  God  piercing  heaven  unclouded  b}~  bewilder- 
ing fogs  and  mists,  and  could  not  understand  why  any 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  INIQUITY.  297 

honest  mind  sliould  fail  to  perceive  it  too.  But  I  knew 
better  how  men  like  Anson  Lovejoy  can  be  made  the 
apologists  and  defenders  of  a  lie;  how  they  naturally 
seek,  the  first  disappointment  over,  to  reconcile  the 
teachings  of  Masonry  with  their  own  standard  of  human 
duty,  and  only  succeed  by  an  ingenious  system  of  in- 
terpretations that,  carried  into  practical  effect,  would 
annul  the  whole  thing.  My  grandfather  so  reasoned 
till  the  murder  of  Morgan  opened  his  eyes.  But  a  man 
like  Anson  Lovejoy,  who- belonged  to  a  generation  that 
knew  not  Morgan — must  another  tragedy  as  fearful 
shock  the  public  mind  and  rouse  in  even  the  dullest 
that  indignation  so  terrible  because  it  is  a  dim  shadow 
of  the  divine  wrath  against  evil  doers,  before  he  could 
be  made  to  see? 

This  question  I  silently  asked  myself  while  Rachel 
rolled  up  her  knitting  and  called  to  Grace,  our  youngest, 
to  light  a  lamp. 

"  Yes,  Mother,"  answered  Grace,  and  rose  promptly 
from  her  seat  on  the  back  steps,  where  she  was  giving 
his  first  lesson  in  astronomy  to  a  favorite  nephew  named 
Joe,  of  whom  I  can  only  say  that  he  had  already  begun 
to  develop  a  talent  for  mischief  that  bade  fair  in  time 
to  cast  all  the  ^youthful  exploits  of  the  original  Joe 
quite  into  the  shade.  At  the  same  moment  the  gate 
swung  open  and  admitted  a  female  figure  with  a  tin 
pail. 

u  Mother,  there  is  Mary  Lyman  come  to  borrow  some' 
yeast.1' 

"Well,  Grace,  you  can  get  it  for  her."  And  Rachel 
drew  up  her  chair  within  the  circle  of  the  light  and 
took  her  sewing,  while  she  invited  the  new-comer  with 
a  kindly  smile  to  sit  down. 


298  HOLDEN  WITH  CORDS. 

She  was  a  girl  of  not  more  than  seventeen — hardly 
that.  Her  large  blue  eyes,  regular  features  and  heavy 
braids  of  tawny  gold  hair  made  her  face  one  of  singular 
beauty.  But  there  was  a  sad,  depressed  look  about  her 
mouth,  and  a  lack  of  youthful  elasticity  in  her  motions 
that  made  her  seem  older  than  she  really  was. 

She  took  her  pail  of  yeast  and  departed  with  a  mur- 
mured word  of  thanks.  Rachel  sewed  very  fast  for 
several  minutes  till  she  snapped  her  thread.  Then  she 
broke  out — 

"  I  say,  it  is  a  shame.'1 

"  What  now,  mother?" 

"  To  keep  that  girl  as  they  do.  I  know  how  it  is 
just  as  well  as  if  I  saw  it;  drudge,  drudge  from  morn- 
ing till  night.  Not  a  minute  in  the  twenty-four  hours 
she  can  call  her  own.  No  chance  for  improvement 
but  plenty  of  chances  for  everything  else.  It  is  too 
bad,  poor  orphan  child!"  added  Rachel,  who  had  all 
the  large-hearted  instincts  of  true  motherhood,  and  its 
capabilities  of  indignation  also. 

u  Well,  I  know  it  is  too  bad;  but  she'll  be  free  in  a 
year  or  so.  That's  one  comfort/' 

11 1  wish  her  time  was  out  now,"  responded  Rachel. 
"  Grace  can't  keep  school  and  help  me  much.  And  I 
believe  if  I  could  have  the  training  of  Mary  for  a  while 
I  might  make  something  of  her  yet." 

"What!  at  eighteen?"  I  asked,  with  natural  in- 
credulity. 

"Yes,  at  eighteen,"  answered  Rachel,  biting  her 
thread  with  an  air  of  decision.  "  It  is  a  mistake  to 
think  the  die  for  good  or  evil  must  be  cast  at  a  partic- 
ular age.  It  all  depends  on  circumstances.  Now  this 
girl  makes  me  think  of  some  tiger-lilies  I  remember 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  IKIQITITY. 

grew  behind  the  barn  when  I  was  a  child.  J  don't 
know  how  they  ever  came  there,  in  that  sunless  corner, 
but  there  they  were,  growing  and  blossoming  in  about 
,  the  same  fashion  that  she  is  ripening  into  womanhood. 
All  she  wants  is  a  chance-4o  develop  herself.  If  I 
could  give  her  that  I  should  feel  that  I  had,  done  one 
good  work  in  the  world  before  I  leave  it." 

u  Why,  mother;  your  life  has  been  nothing  but  giv- 

Eing  and  doing  for  forty  years." 
"  Well,  I  don't  know  about  that,  father,"  answered 
Rachel,  with  a  little  shake  of  her  head.     But  I  could 
see  that  her  husband's  praise  was  very  sweet  to  her, 
nevertheless. 

The  girl  of  whom  we  had  been  speaking  was,  as 
Rachel  said,  an  orphan  whom  fate,  personified  by  the 
selectmen  of  Granby,  had  delivered  over  to  be  the  vic- 
tim of  a  species  of  white  slavery  in  the  family  of  a 
Mr.  Simon  Peck.  To  scrub  floors,  feed  the  hogs,  fetch 
the  water  and  lug  a  heavy  baby  about  when  there  was 
nothing  else  for  her  to  do,  was  the  routine  of  her  daily 
life  varied  by  such  small  tyrannies  and  exactions  from 
the  younger  Pecks  as  the  ingenuity  of  their  o.wn  minds 
or  the  example  of  their  elders  might  suggest. 

It  was  not  strange  that  all  Rachel's  womanly  feel- 
ings had  been  roused  in  behalf  of  the  girl.  A  nat- 
ural refinement  had  kept  her  from  assimilating  with 
her  rough  and  coarse  surroundings,  and  she  was  now 
growing  up  to  a  dower  of  singular  beauty.  Who 
should  say  whether  it  would  prove  a  blessing  or  a 
curse?  , 

Rachel  sewed  away  in  silence  for  a  few  moments  and 
when  she  again  spoke  it  was  to  recur  to  our  former 
subject  of  talk. 


300  HOLDEK  WITH  CORDS. 

u  Well,  I  don't  see,  as  I  said  before,  how  such  men  as 
Anson  Lovejoy  can  defend  Masonry,  but  I  think  I  un- 
derstand the  reason  why  I  don't  understand  it." 

"What  do  you  mean,  mother?" 

"  Why,  it  is  the  '  mystery  of  iniquity.'  We  talk 
about  'the  mystery  of  godliness'  that  cannot  be  known 
except  by  Christians,  but  we  forget  there  is  something 
corresponding  to  it  on  the  other  side.  There  are 
depths  of  Satanic  craft  just  as  there  are  depths  of  Re- 
deeming Wisdom.  We  can't  understand  either.  They 
are  beyond  us.  It  is  the l  deceivableness  of  unrighteous- 
ness,' kthe  strong  delusion.'  Mystery;  that  is  just 
what  it  is,  the  mystery  of  iniquity." 

And  Rachel  resumed  the  work  whirh  she  had  let  fall 
in  her  earnestness,  while  I  pondered  over  her  words, 
a.nd  concluded  that  she  was  about  right. 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

AUGEAK   STABLES. 


Lodge  met  in  the  upper  story 
of  a  brick  building  near  the  center  of 
the  village,  agreeably  to  the  practice  of 
their  ancient  brethren  who  assembled  on 
high  places  to  worship  Baal,  as  stand- 
$&  ard  Masonic  authorities  confirmed  by  all 
the  Bible  commentaries  and  encyclopedias, 
unite  to  inform  us.  It  numbered  sixty  or 
seventy  members  and  to  outward  appearances 
was  in  a  prosperous  condition.  But  an  examination  of 
the  secretary's  books  would  have  revealed  a  tale  of  dis- 
ordered finances  only  equalled  by  the  petty  bickerings 
and  out-and-out  quarrels  that  at  every  meeting  of  the 
lodge  vexed  the  soul  of  the  Worshipful  Master,  who 
strove  heroically  to  infuse  his  own  high  Masonic  ideal 
into  the  worthy  brethren,  but  never  succeeded  in  quite 
satisfying  himself  or  anybody  else. 

It  is  a  melancholy  fact  that  "  the  good  men  in  the 
lodge'5  of  whom  we  hear  so  much  are  a  practical 
nonentity  beside  a  few  unscrupulous  members.  Good- 
ness is  modest  and  apt  to  shrink  into  the  background, 
but  wickedness  is  a^rrrp^ive  and  outspoken.  An  son 
Lovejoy,  though  he  held  the  highest  office  in  the  lodge, 


302  HOLDER  WITH  CORDS. 

did  not  wield  in  reality  a  tenth  part  of  the  influence 
exercised  by  another  member  who  held  no  office  at  all. 

This  was  Mr.  Jervish,  to  whom  the  reader  will  re- 
member that  I  made  a  rather  disparaging  allusion  in 
my  talk  with  Rachel  recorded  in  the  last  chapter.  I 
disliked  the  man  without  knowing  anything  very  posi- 
tive about  him  beyond  what  the  tongue  of  rumor  as- 
serted— that  he  was  a  free-thinker  in  religion  and  a 
libertine  in  morals.  But  it  must  not.  be  supposed  that 
these  two  trifling  circumstances  affected  in  the  least  his 
good  and  regular  standing  in  the  lodge,  or  moved  any 
one  of  the  reverend  gentlemen  belonging  thereto  to 
protest  for  the  honor  of  their  sacred  office  against  such 
companionship. 

It  was  commanded  of  old  that  even  the  burden- 
bearers  of  the  temple  should  be  clean  from  all  defile- 
ment. Shall  they  who  are  separated  to  a  far  higher 
service  fraternize  in  unholy  union  with  men  who  habit- 
ually violate  God's  code  of  moral  purity,  and  think  to 
stand  with  unspotted  garments  in  ihe  pulpit?  Can 
their  prayers,  their  sermons,  their  breaking  of  bread  in 
the  Holy  Supper,  be  anything  but  an  abomination  and 
a  loathing  in  his  sight?  0,  Church  of  the  living  God, 
how  long  will  you  allow  such  foolish  pastors  to  lay 
waste  your  fair  heritage?  0,  Bride  of  Christ,  how  long 
shall  your  honor  be  turned  to  shame  by  their  praises  of 
your  harlot  rival? 

Mark — or,  to  speak  more  correctly,  Elder  Stedmah. 
had  lost  none  of  his  old  hatred  to  the  lodge.  He  had 
only  relaxed  his  warfare  on  the  system  when  he  believed 
that  it  was  down  never  to  rise  again  from  its  mortal 
hurt.  And  now  the  fall  of  slavery  had  made  a  silence 
in  which  the  approaching  footsteps  of  the  next  great 


AUGEAN   STABLES.  -          303 

issue  were  plainly  perceptible  to  u  the  hearing  ear," 
which  Elder  Stedman  believed  ought  to  be  more  char- 
acteristic of  the  ministry  than  any  other  class  of  men 
— an  opinion  largely  based  on  the  Bible  account  of  the 
old  prophets,  who  certainly  took  a  lively  interest  in  the 
great  moral  questions  of  their  day.  But  a  good  many 
people  did  not  share  this  idea,  and  when  Mark  began 
to  level  his  arrows  at  Masonry  there  was  the  usual 
number  of  undiscerning  good  men  outside  of  the  lodge 
u  who  thought  ministers  ought  to  preach  the  gospel 
and  let  other  subjects  alone.  But  the  Elder  had  never 
been  in  the  habit  of  reading  his  marching  orders  back- 
ward. He  hadn't  the  slightest  notion  that  the  com- 
mand, u  Cry  aloud  and  spare  not,"  really  meant,  "  Be 
silent  on  all  popular  sins  and  spare  the  feelings  of  sin- 
ners as  much  as  possible."  And  so  he  preached  on,  as 
serenely  careless  of  any  disturbance  produced  by  his 
words  as  the  sun  is  of  all  the  agitated  runnings  to  and 
fro  in  some  colony  of  discomforted  beetles  suddenly 
exposed  to  the  light. 

Masonry  was  strong  in  Granby,  and  under  its  shadow 
flourished  Odd-fellowship,  and  all  the  kindred  secret 
orders  that  like  mushrooms  sprang  up  in  the  night  of 
the  war  to  cover  the  land  with  their  rank,  foul  growth, 
It  was  strong  enough  to  make  men  who  hated  the  sys- 
tem from  the  bottom  of  their  hearts  shrink  from  dis- 
cussing it  with  that  strange  fear  that  only  the  lodge  is 
capable  of  inspiring — to  strike  the  whole  community 
with  a  kind  of  moral  paralysis,  an  unaccountable  apathy 
that  is  like  a  death  chill  at  the  heart  of  all  free 
thought. 

"What  can  the  church  be  thinking  of  not  to  wake 
up  to  her  duty  in  this  matter  of  Masonry?''  said  Mark 


304  HOLDE.N  WITH  CORDS. 

to  me  one  day  when  he  and  Hannah  had  rode  over  for 
an  hour's  cozy  chat  and  a  cup  of  tea  together.  Above 
all,  what  is  the  ministry  thinking  of  not  to  see  that 
fellowship  with  the  lodge  is  spiritual  adultery? — the 
very  same  sin  for  which  God  visited  the  Jewish  church 
with  such  terrible  judgments.  There  is  a  blindness  on 
this  subject  that  is  perfectly  inscrutable.  In  many 
places  the  churches  are  so  completely  dominated  and 
controlled  by  this  foul  spirit  of  secrecy  that  they  are 
like  a  hive  of  bees  riddled  through  and  through  with 
moths.  There  is  no  spiritual  life  left  in  them.'1 

"  Well,  the  fact  is,  we  reformers  made  a  terrible 
blunder  in  the  old  Morgan  days,  and  now  our  children 
and  children's  children  must  pay  for  it  by  fighting  the 
battle  all  over  again.  We  took  it  for  granted  that  the 
lodge  was  dead  and  dropped  all  talking  and  writing  on 
the  subject.  Meanwhile  Masonry  was  striking  hands 
with  the  slave  power  south  of  Mason  and  Dixon's  line, 
and  hatching  up  Odd-fellowship  and  Good  Teniplarism 
and  a  host  of  other  secret  orders  to  keep  the  way  open 
for  its  ultimate  return  to  power.  Now  it  is  back  in  its 
old  place  with  at  least  a  hundred  avenues  for  mischief 
where  it  had  one  before." 

u  But  weVe  got  the  old  weapons  to  fight  it  with," 
returned  Mark.  "  Thank  God  for  that." 

Rachel  and  Hannah  had  been  indulging  in  some  low- 
toned  domestic  confidences.  Their  attention  was  now 
attracted  to  the  conversation  and  the  latter  remarked: 

u  I  wonder  that  so  many  women,  and  some  of  them 
sisters  in  the  church  too,  can  stand  in  an  apologetic 
attitude  towards  the  lodge  when  they  know  it  excludes 
and  treats  with  contempt  the  whole  female  sex." 

**  Well,  I  had  an  experience  on  that  point,"  answered 


AUGEAK  STABLES.  305 

Rachel,  "  at  our  last  sewing  meeting,  Colonel  Mont- 
fort's  wife,  Maria  Perkins  that  was — you  remember  her 
Hannah — was  telling  about  a  Masonic  grand  ball  that 
she  attended  some  where,  given  in  honor  of  the  mem- 
bers' wives;  and  she  stirred  me  up  after  a  while  to  ask 
her  how  much  of  their  charity  fund  she  supposed  went 
toward  the  supper  and  the  music,  and  all  the  other  fol- 
de-rols.  I  might  as  well  have  talked  to  a  butterfly. 
There  are  always  enough  foolish  women  with  about  as 
much  brain  as  you  could  get  into  a  thimble,  that  don't 
care  two  straws  for  the  moral  side  of  the  question.  All 
they  want  is  flattery  and  admiration  and  a  good  time, 
and  the  lodge  has  found  out  that  a  little  judicious  ex- 
penditure of  money  in  that  direction  pays  even  if  Ma- 
sonic widows  and  orphans  don't  get  one  per  cent,  divi- 
dend." 

"  And  yet,"  answered  the  Elder's  wife,  thoughtfully, 
"  I  believe  that  one  Christian  woman  who  through  ig- 
norance, or  timidity,  or  the  feeling  that  it  is  a  subject- 
in  which  she  is  not  personally  concerned,  gives  the  lodge 
as  much  as  her  silent  support,strengthens  it  more  than 
a  dozen  of  the  frivolous,  pleasure-seeking  class.  How 
many  times  I  have  heard  the  remark  from  good,  pray- 
ing sisters, '  0,  I  don't  xknow  anything  about  Masonry 
and  I  don't  care  to  know  anything  about  it.'  They 
owe  all  their  social  elevation  to  Christ,  but  when  a  sys- 
tem of  rites  and  ceremonies  that  sets  him  and  his  aton- 
ingwork  at  nought  rises  up  in  our  land  they  talk  as 
though  they  actually  prided  themselves  on  their  in- 
difference to  the  whole  thing." 

"  I  can  truly  say  that  the  sorest  wounds  I  ever  re- 
ceived in  this  warfare  have  been  in  th'e  house  of  my 
friends,"  said  Mark.  Many  a  time  I  have  had  to  meet 


306  HOLDEN  WITH  CORDS. 

coldness  and  scorn  from  professing  Christians  for  break- 
ing my  lodge  oaths.  They  pretend  to  think  it  wicked 
to  take  such  obligations,  yet  with  admirable  consistency 
would  keep  a  man  bound  in  Satan's  cable-tow  forever, 
rather  than  praise  the  power  of  God  in  setting  him 
free." 

"'  I  suppose  Colonel  Montfort  is  a  member  of  the 
lodge  here?"  inquired  Hannah.  "  1  think  I  remember 
hearing  that  his  war  record  wasn't  very  good — tarnished 
by  charges  of  dishonest  use  of  government  money  or 
something  of  the  kind." 

"  That  is  not  a  Masonic  sin,"  I  answer.ed.  "  He  only 
cheated  poor  soldiers.  Colonel  Montfort  has  plenty  of 
4  worthy  brothers  '  in  the  lodge  guilty  of  equal  or  great- 
er transgressions  that  ought  to  send  them  to  State's 
prison,  and  would  if  the  laws  were  enforced  as  they 
ought  to  be.  But  these  men  understand  the  require- 
ments of  Masonry  better  than  the  Master  of  the  lodge 
— Anson  Lovejoy,  who  is  the  most  honest  Mason  I  ever 
knew,  next  to  my  grandfather.  In  spite  of  the  fact 
that  I  am  a  renegade  and  perjured  and  altogether  a 
reprobate,  Masonically  considered,  he  has  unbosomed 
his  perplexities  to  me  pretty  freely  at  one  time  and 
another.  And  I  really  pity  the  man.  He  don't  rule: 
he  fills  the  chair,  but  these  men,  especially  Montfort 
and  Jervish,  are  the  real  Masters  of  the  lodge.  I'll  tell 
you  one  thing  just  for  illustration.  He  was  initiating 
a  candidate  who  hesitated  at  a  certain  part  of  the  oath 
and  so  he  proceeded  to  satisfy  his  perplexed  conscience 
by  explaining  that  it  only  obliged  him  to  help  a  brother 
in  misfortune  but  not  by  any  means  to  shield  him  in 
crime.  Montfort  and  Jervish  took  exceptions  to  what 
he  said  in  open  lodge — a  thing  that,  Masonically  speak- 


AUGEAN   STABLES.  307 

ing,  they  had  no  business  to  do,  for  according  to  all  the 
statutes  of  Masonry  the  Master's  word  shall  be  law  in 
the  lodge.  And  ever  since  that  affair  happened  his 
position  has  been  anything  but  agreeable.  He  consid- 
ers them  as  dangerous  men  and  they  dispute  and  defy 
his  authority  at  every  turn.'1 

"  I  wonder  he  don't  resign,"  said  Mark. 

"  He  has  wanted  to,  but  the  difficulty  of  uniting 
under  anybody  else  makes  them  unwilling  to  accept 
his  resignation;  and  the  perplexity  of  choosing  a  new 
Master  of  the  lodge  might  tend  under  present  circum- 
stances to  divide  or  break  it  up  altogether.  You  see 
he  has  a  splendid  theory  of  Masonry,  and  like  m6st 
theorists  he  is  willing  to  sacrifice  considerable  for  it. 
He  is  naturally  high-spirited  but  he  pockets  all  theso 
affronts  and  indignities  in  the  hope  that  he  may  finally 
work  such  a  moral  revolution  in  the  lodge  that  un- 
worthy members  will  be  no  longer  admitted,  and  the 
institution  become  what  he  claims  it  should  be — simply 
a  moral  and  benevolent  one.1' 

al  understand,1'  said  Mark,  with  a  slight  smile. 
t;  Hercules  and  the  Augean  stables  over  again.  But 
Hercules  had  to  stand  outside  when  he  let  on  the  puri- 
fying stream,  otherwise  he  would  have  stood  an  ex- 
cellent chance  to  get  smothered.1' 


CHAPTER   XXXIV. 

ONE  MORE  UNFORTUNATE. 

•R.  SIMON  PECK'S  establishment  con- 
sisted of  a  small  grocery  store  with  two 
or  three  untidy  rooms  in  the  rear,  where 
every  article  in  the  canon  of  a  good 
housewife  was  persistently  set  at  nought. 
Mrs.  Simon  Peck  was  a  woman  with  thin 
yellow  hair  done  up  in  perpetual  curl  papers 
and  a  general  appearance  suggestive  of  washed- 
out  calico.  Of  the  younger  Pecks  the  less  said 
the  better.  They  were  all  that  might  be  expected, 
however,  considering  their  parentage  and  training. 

This  man  belonged  to  Fidelity  Lodge,  and  low  as  Avas 
his  social  standing  compared  with  Colonel  Montfort 
and  others  of  its  leading  members,  he  held  a  very  im- 
portant office  therein  which  was  that  of  general  toady 
as  well  as  a  most  convenient  cat's-paw  for  any  species  of 
dirty  work  with  which  the  Colonel  did  not  care  to  soil 
his  aristocratic  fingers.  This  satellitic  intimacy  with 
the  great  men  of  the  lodge  had  caused  Mr.  Peck  to  ad- 
vance considerably  in  his  own  good  opinion,  for  with 
the  usual  obtuseness  of  toadies  he  never  seemed  to  sus- 
pect the  real  grounds  on  which  it  was  based,  and  set  on 
by  the  powerful  clique  before  mentioYiPcl  he  contrived 


ONE   MORE   UNFORTUNATE. 

in  a  variety  of  ways — none  of  which  were  very  agree- 
able to  a  sensitive  and  finely-strung  spirit — to  throw 
contempt  on  the  authority  of  the  Master  of  the  lodge 
by  sly,  underhand  methods  of  attack,  much  more  an- 
noying than  open  warfare. 

"  But  were  there  no  good  men  in  Fidelity  Lodge?1' 
inquires  the  reader.  Assuredly  there  were,  but  of 
these  many  had  fallen  into  that  habit  of  non-attendance 
which  certainly  has  illustrious  prestige  in  George 
Washington's  example,  not  to  mention  later  \yorthies 
to  whom  the  lodge  proudly  points  as  u  distinguished 
Masons,"  while  those  who  remained  wielded  no  influ- 
ence worth  speaking  of.  Thus  it  will  be  seen  that 
Anson  Lovejoy  in  his  attempts  to  mold  the  lodge  after 
his  own  high  Masonic  standard  was  not  a  whit  better 
off  than  if  he  had  stood  entirely  alone. 

It  was  not  often  that  I  patronized  Mr.  Peck's  counter, 
but  one  morning  I  was  in  a  hurry  and  stepped  in  there 
for  some  article  indispensable  to  the  kitchen  economy 
which  had  been  overlooked  in  making  out  the  usual 
household  list  of  necessaries. 

Mary,  who  sometimes  waited  on  customers,  went  be- 
hind the  counter  and  weighed  out  the  pound  of  bread 
soda  for  which  I  called.  1  could  not  help  noting  as 
she  did  so  her  expression  of  silent  misery  and  dejection. 
My  heart  ached  for  her.  Is  it  possible,  I  thought,  that 
in  the  loving  providence  of  the  All-wise  Father  some 
lives  must  ever  remain  like  the  unsunned  tiger  lilies  to 
which  Rachel  in  one  of  those  gleams  of  poetic  senti- 
ment that  we  so  often  see  flash  across  the  most  com- 
mon-sense and  practical  nature,  had  likened  her?  "But 
all  I  could  do  was  to  drop  a  pleasant  word  as  she  handed 
me  the  brown  paper  parcel,  little  thinking  that  when  I 


310  HOLDEN  WITH  COEDS. 

saw  that  face  again  the  great  Eternal  Mystery  would 
have  set  on  every  feature  its  awful  seal  of  silence  and 
separation  never  to  be  broken  by  human  blame  or  pity. 

I  laid  the  package  down  on  the  kitchen  table  where 
Rachel  stoad  rolling  out  pies  and  superintending  the 
oven  from  which  several  comely  brown  loaves  had  just 
emerged. 

'•  1  wonder  if  that  Mary  Lyman  isn't  in  some  kind  of 
trouble,"  I  said.  "  Her  face  really  haunts  me,  she 
looked -so  wretched.  Of  course  I  couldn't  say  anything 
to  her,  but  a  real  good,  motherly  woman  like  you  might 
find  out  what  the  matter  is  and  perhaps  help  her." 

Rachel  filled  a  pie  thoughtfully  and  ornamented  the 
edges  with  elaborate  care.  I  felt  that  there  was  some- 
thing behind  her  silence  and  waited  patiently  till  the 
revelation  should  come.  She  put  her  pie  in  the  oven 
and  proceeded  to  roll  out  another  before  she  spoke,  and 
then  it  was  to  make  an  inquiry  not  apparently  connect- 
ed with  the  subject. 

"  I  have  heard  you  speak  once  or  twice  of  a  certain 
Mr.  Jervish,  a  friend  of  Colonel  Montfort's.  What  do 
you  know  about  him  in  particular?" 

"  Well,  nothing  in  particular,  but  in  general  I  should 
call  him  an  unmitigated  son  of  Belial.  However,  he 
has  got  policy  enough  to  keep  his  vices  pretty  well 
under  the  surface,  and  so  he  gets  admitted  freely  into 
good  society,  as  such  men  usually  do,  and  no  questions 
asked.  Why?" 

"  It  may  not  be  true  what  I  have  heard,  what  I  sus- 
pect, but  if  it  is" — and  Rachel  stood  erect  with  firm- 
set  lips  and  flashing  eyes — "  if  it  is,  I  don't  want  any 
other  proof  that  the  Bible  doctrine  of  everlasting  pun- 
ishment is  the  right  one," 


MOEB  UNFOitTUKATE.  311 

For  a  moment  I  felt  stunned.  Pity,  shame,  abhor- 
rence of  the  wretch  who  had  wrought  such  sacrilegious 
ruin  of  one  of  God's  fairest  human  temples  struggled 
together  in  contending  tides  of  feeling.  They  who 
think  it  strange  that  in  the  Apocalypse  the  Hallelujahs 
of  God's  saints  are  represented  as  rising  joyous  and 
triumphant  in'  sight  of  the  smoke  of  eternal  burnings 
have  surely  never  felt  as  I  did  at  that  moment — glad 
from  my  very  soul  that  there  is  such  an  awful  place  of 
retribution  where  the  punishment  which  society  fails 
to  mete  out  for  crimes  like  this  shall  at  last  be  visited 
upon  the  evil  doer. 

"  As  she  doesn't  happen  to  be  a  Mason's  wife  or 
daughter,"  said  Rachel,  bitterly,  u  her  destroyer  will  go 
scot  free  as  far  as  the  lodge  is  concerned.  Ministers  of 
the  gospel  will  call  him  l  brother '  all  the  same,  and 
when  he  dies  they'll  drop  their  sprig  of  evergreen  into 
the  grave  and  make  a  prayer  to  the  Supreme  Architect 
of  the  Universe,  and  he'll  be  all  right  for  the  Grand 
Lodge  above.  I  tell  you  I'm  sick  at  heart  when  I  think 
of  it.1' 

And  Rachel  scraped  up  her  dough  and  put  it  back  in 
the  pan  for  a  Saturday  pie,  and  the  clock  ticked  away 
in  the  corner  and  the  sunshine  stole  in  with  a  fresh 
breeze  to  bea»  it  company;  and  everything  went  on 
precisely  the  same  as  if  the  world  had  no  such  awful 
abyss  of  sin  and  sorrow  as  that  which  had  now  opened 
before  us. 

u  But  this  poor,  fatherless,  motherless  girl,"  I  said  at 
last.  "  Can't  we  do  anything  to  help  her?  We  believe 
in  Christ's  way  of  treating  the  fallen  and  not  in  socie- 
ty's way.  Let  us  show  our  faith  by  our  deeds." 

u  Well,  father,"  said  Rachel,  with  a  softened  voice, 


312  HOLDER   WITH    CORDS. 

u  I'm  sure  I'm  willing  to  try,  I've  been  thinking  it 
over.  I  don't  just  see  my  way  clear  yet,  but  I  shall,  of 
course;  I  always  do." 

Which  was  no  unfounded  boast.  Rachel's  "  think- 
ing," as  with  most  persons  of  her  positive  tempera- 
ment, usually  resulted  in  very  energetic  action.  For 
just  as  soon  as  the  pies  and  cakes  were  out  of  the  oven 
and  cooling  on  the  pantry  table  she  put  on  her  ^bonnet 
and  stepped  across  to  the  Peck's  back  yard,  where  a 
kitchen  garden  flourished  as  well  as  it  could  under  ad- 
verse circumstances.  Here  among  trailing  vines  of 
cucumbers  and  tomato  and  summer  squash,  Mary  was 
picking  vegetables  for  dinner,  and  shielded  from  sight 
of  the  house  by  a  long  row  of  bean-poles.  Rachel  went 
and  knelt  down  by  the  side  of  the  surprised  girl,  and 
without  the  slightest  circumlocution  inquired  gently 
but  firmly — 

"  Mary,  I  want  to  know  if  this  story  I  have  heard 
about  you  is  true?  If  you  say  lNo,'  I  shall  believe 
you  and  rejoice.  But  tell  me  the  truth/' 

Now  if  Rachel  had  not  been  kind  in  days  before — if 
she  had  not  manifested  by  word  and  look  that  she  felt 
a  true  womanly  interest  in  the  bound  girl  who  lived  at 
the  Peck's  she  never  could  have  taken  this  poor  erring 
human  heart  by  storm  as  she  did. 

Mary  looked  up  quickly,  colored  and  burst  into  tears. 

"  Mrs.  Severns,"  she  said,  wildly,  "  I  am  going  to 
drown  myself.  I  thought  it  all  over  last  night,  but  I 
couldn't  make  up  my  mind.  There  is  no  place  in  the 
world  for  me — there  never  was — and  it  is  the  best 
thing  I  can  do." 

Rachel  quietly  took  the  two  hands  down  from  the 
averted  face  and  held  them  fast  in  her  own  cool  grasp. 


(XN"E  MORE  UNFORTUNATE.  313 

44  Don't  talk  that  way,  Mary.  God  has  raised  you  up 
two  friends  in  Mr.  Severns  and  I.  We  are  going  to  do 
all  we  can  for  you.  Don't  add  sin  to  sin  by  destroying 
yourself,  and  remember,  another  life  with  your's." 

"What  is  the  use  of  your  talking  to  me?"  said  the 
girl,  turning  in  a  kind  of  fierce  despair.  u  Why  don't 
you  let  me  alone?" 

"  Because  I  have  no  right  to  let  you  alone,  and  be- 
cause there  is  hope  for  you  yet.  Satan  may  tell  you 
there  is  none,  but  don't  hearken  to  his  lie.  There  is  a 
place  for  repentance — at  the  feet  of  Him  who  said  to  a 
sinner  of  old  time  who  had  fallen  lower  than  you,  '  Go, 
and  sin  no  more."' 

So  Rachel  talked,  strong,  brave,  Christ-like  words, 
till  Mary  ceased  weeping,  and  it  seemed  as  though  a 
faint,  pale  rainbow  of  real  hope  had  begun  to  span  the 
gulf  of  her  shame  and  despair.  And  then  Rachel, 
rising  up  from  her  lowly  position  behind  the  bean- 
poles went  home  feeling  as  I  think  one  of  God's  an- 
gels must  returning  from  some  errand  of  celestial  pity 
to  a  sinning  soul  of  this  lower  world. 

"  Father,"  she  said,  after  dinner, "  I  have  been  think- 
ing of  Aunt  Faith.  That  would  be  just  the  place  for 
Mary  if  J  can  get  her  taken  in  there,  and  I  feel  sure  I 
can,  so  if  yuu  will  just  have  the  wagon  harnessed  up 
I'll  go  right  over  and  see  her  this  very  afternoon." 

Now  Aunt  Faith  was  an  elderly  Quakeress,  a  kind  of 
uncommissioned  Sister  of  Mercy  who  knew  nothing  of 
training  schools  or  any  of  the  organized  systems  of 
charity,  but  worked  independently  of  all  these  on  a 
system  of  her  own,  which,  upon  critical  examination, 
might  be  found  to  be  quite  as  near  the  New  Testament 
pattern;  ahd  here,  as  Rachel  said,  was  exactly  the 


314:  HOLDER   WITH   COEDS. 

refuge  the  poor  girl  needed;  rest  from  the  strife  of 
tongues,  shelter  for  the  present  and  counsel  for  the 
future;  and  more  than  all  else,  a  living  daily  manifesta- 
tion of  the  great  pitiful  Christ  Heart,  breathing  in 
every  movement  of  Aunt  Faith's  motherly  person, 
every  fold  of  her  Quaker  gray  dress  that  partook  as 
little  of  this  world's  fashions  as  if  it  had  been  a  kind 
of  spiritual  emanation,  like  the  mantle  of  meekness 
and  charity  made  visible  to  mortal  eyes  iu  tangible 
form  and  material. 

"  Don't  thee  worry,  friend  Rachel,"  she  said.  "  The 
poor  soul  shall  have  all  needed  care.  Nor  do  I  want 
thy  thanks.  It  is  for  the  dear  Lord's  sake  I  do  it,  as 
thee  very  well  knows/' 

Rachel  had  one  more  task  before  her,  and  that  was 
to  acquaint  Mary  with  what  had  been  done,  and  arrange 
for  her  speedy  departure  from  the  Peck  household. 
Though  not  remiss  in  neighborly  offices  she  had  never 
cared  to  be  on  visiting  terms  with  Mrs.  Peck,  and 
shrank  from  what  she  foresaw  would  be  likely  to  prove 
a  disagreeable  interview.  It  was  late  when  we  reached 
home,  but  early  next  morning  Rachel  went  over,  feel- 
ing that  the  sooner  the  business  was  accomplished  the 
better. 

She  saw  nothing  of  Mary.  Mrs.  Peck,  with  profuse 
welcomes  and  many  apologies — neither  of  which  Rachel 
heeded — took  her  into  the  dirty,  disordered  sitting- 
room.  She  looked  disturbed,  but  perhaps  it  was  only 
the  perturbation  caused  by  Rachel's  unexpected  visit. 

"I  came  to  have  some  talk  with  you  about  your  girl 
Mary,"  said  the  Litter.  u  I  don't  see  her  about;  where 
is  she?" 

"  She's  gone  off.     I  hain't  seen  her  since  last  night.'7 


ONE    MORE   UNFORTUNATE.  315 

"  Gone  off !  Where  to?"  asked  Rachel,  startled  with 
a  horrible  fear  as  she  remembered  Mary's  wild  words 
the  day  before. 

"  That's  more  than  I  know,  where  to.  Bat  she'll 
never  come  back  here,  the  baggage,"  answered  Mrs. 
Peck,  flushing  with  virtuous  indignation.  /u  After  dis- 
gracing herself  and  all  the  rest  of  us  as  she  has  I  don't 
want  her  in  my  family  again. 

Now  if  Rachel  had  not  been  so  strongly  possessed 
with  the  idea  that  Mary  had  destroyed  herself  she 
might  have  suspected  that  Mrs.  Peck  lied  in  thus  deny- 
ing all  knowledge  of  her  whereabouts.  'As  it  was,  the 
shock  with  which  she  first  heard  the  news  gave  place 
to  a  sudden  revulsion  of  feeling.  She  felt  a  real 
antipathy  to  the  woman,  and  before  leaving  the  house 
she  emptied  several  vials  of  very  righteous  wrath  on 
the  head  of  Mrs.  Peck,  who  she  rightfully  averred  had 
taken  Mary  to  be  a  mere  household  drudge,  had  taught 
her  nothing,  and  was  therefore  responsible  in  no  small 
degree  for  her  lapse  from  virtue. 

Mrs.  Peck  was  angry  at  first,  then  took  the  other 
tack  so  common  with  women  of  her  shallow  tempera- 
ment, and  cried.  But  Rachel,  sublimely  indifferent  to 
both  tears  and  anger,  rose  up  and  went  her  way  sick  of 
soul  as  she  saw  all  her  well-laid  plans  thus  suddenly 
brought  to  nought. 

Why,  0  why  must  it  be  that  the  good  angels  are  so 
often  thwarted  in  their  blessed  ministry  by  the  Satanic 
wiles  of  some  opposing  spirit  of  evil?  Why  must  the 
craft  and  guile  of  the  old  Serpent  be  allowed  to  drag 
back  to  destruction  a  soul  that  was  almost  saved? 

Several  days  passed  during  which  we  heard  nothing 
of  the  unfortunate  girl,  but  the  fact  that  a  closely- 


316  HOLDER  WITH  CORDS. 

covered  carriage  had  been  seen  to  stop  at  the  Peck's 
the  night  she  was  missing,  and  then  drive  rapidly  off' 
in  the  dusk  was  a  coincidence  remembered  by  one  or 
two  people  when  the  subject  began  to  be  inquired  into. 
And  it  was  believed  that  she  had  gone  off  of  her  own 
voluntary  will.  But  where?  and  with  whom?  Ques- 
tions which  it  is  reserved  for  the  next  chapter  to 
answer. 


CHAPTER   XXXV. 

MASONRY     PROTECTING    MURDERERS.— VOX    POPULI,    VOX 

DEI. 

NE  night  about  a  week  after  these  events 
j£  there  was  a  meeting  of  two  men  at  a 
cross  road  a  little  way  out  of  the  village; 
which  meeting  was  evidently  not  acci- 
dental, for  one  of  the  two  had  been  pac- 
ing restlessly  back  and  forth  for  some  time 
in  a  state  of  mingled  agitation  and  expec- 
tancy, and  now  greeted  the  other  with  only 
'*   these  three  abruptly  spoken  words: 
"She  is  dead!" 

His  companion  started  and  a  quick  change  passed 
over  his  face.  To  a  man  accustomed  to  taking  a  good 
position  in  society  and  being  flattered  and  smiled  on 
accordingly,  the  vision  of  possible  arrest  at  the  hands 
of  the  law  could  hardly  be  an  agreeable  subject  of  con- 
templation; but  there  is  an  old  saying  which  tells  us  to 
give  even  the  Prince  of  Darkness  his  due,  and  I  am  will- 
ing to  believe  that  Maurice  Jervish  felt  for  one  instant 
a  real  pang  of  remorse — though  only  a  passing  senti- 
ment, quickly  overpowered  by  selfish  considerations  for 
his  own  safety. 


HOLDER   WITH  COEDS. 

"  This  is  a  horrible  business/'  he  finally  answered. 
u  There  will  be  a  tremendous  fuss  made  I  suppose  when 
the  affair  comes  to  be  looked  into." 

"  I  shall  have  to  lay  low  till  it  blows  over,"  returned 
the  other.  u  So  now,  Jervish,  you  must  let  me  have  a 
hundred  dollars;  I  can't  go  without  it;  my  affairs  are 
in  a  devil  of  a  fix." 

"  Haven't  got  more  than  fifty  by  me." 

"Then  borrow  the  other  fifty,  can't  you?"  said  his 
companion,  impatiently.  "  I  must  clear  out  of  .here  to- 
night or  it  is  a  jail  matter." 

"You  forget  that  this  confounded  ugly  business  is 
likely  to  get  me  into  a  tight  box  as  well  as  you,"  said 
Jervish,  uneasily.  "  But  I'm  willing  to  do  the  best  I 
can.  There's  a  private  room  in  my  office.  Come  down 
there  with  me  and  we'll  talk  the  matter  over." 

"  I  know  you  are  thinking  of  your  own  skin,  but  I've 
got  some  regard  for  mine,''  answered  the  other,  with 
cool  contempt.  "  And  I  want  you  to  understand  that 
the  sooner  I'm  off  and  out  of  the  reach  of  pursuit  the 
better  for  you.  I  might  prove  a  very  inconvenient 
witness  before  the  coroner's  jury. 

"Oh,  come,"  said  Jervish,  alarmed  at  the  threat. 
"  What  is  the  use  of  talking  like  that.  I'll  get  the 
money  of  Montfort  or  some  other  member  of  the  lodge. 
They  won't  get  wind  of  the  affair  before  to-morrow 
morning,  and  that  will  give  you  plenty  of  time  for  a 
fair  start." 

"  I've  got  the  night  before  me,  and,  luckily,  a  good 
fast  horse,"  returned  the  other,  after  a  moment's  re- 
flection. "  Perhaps  I  had  better  go  down  to  the  office, 
and  yon  can  bring  me  the  money  there.  Only  be 
quick  about  it." 


MASOKRY   PROTECTING  MURDERERS.  319 

Jervish  handed  him  the  key  of  his  office  in  silence 
and  the  two  separated. 

While  this  conversation  was  going  on,  in  a  house 
that  stood  a  little  way  back  from  the  road  and  not  far 
from  their  place  of  meeting  lay  all  that  was  mortal  of 
Mary  Ionian.  The  seal  of  the  death  angel  was  on 
those  fast-closed  lids,  and  the  lines  of  weariness  and 
pain  left  by  the  last  struggle  made  the  beautiful  face 
look  even  sadder  than  in  life,  as,  framed  in  its  rippling 
abundance  of  tawny  gold  hair,  it  looked  up  while  and 
silent,  bearing  mute  but  awful  witness  that  a  deed  of 
murder  had  been  done. 

Meanwhile  Maurice  Jervish,  in  no  enviable  frame  of 
mind,  was  directing  his  steps  toward  the  hov;se  of 
Colonel  Montfort.  It  was  decidedly  the  largest  and 
most  pretentious  in  the  village,  for  the  Colonel  was  a 
man  of  considerable  property,  gained  not  so  much  in 
lawful  business  as  by  certain  shady  transactions  already 
referred  to.  Ringing  the  bell  he  was  soon  admitted 
into  a  room  styled  the  library,  though  the  Colonel  was 
not  a  man  of  scholarly  tastes,  and  spent  more  time 
smoking  than  in  reading  anything  older  than  the 
morning  newspaper — and  proceeded  at  once  to  state 
his  business,  with  which  the  reader  is  already  familiar. 

"  The  deuce!  This  is  going  a  little  too  far,  Jewish. 
Of  course  the  lodge  will  do  its  best  to  bring  you  off  all 
right,  but  the  truth  is  we  have  got  about  enough  to 
shoulder  already.  A  good  many  here  in  Granby  are  all 
ripe  for  an  Antimasonic  excitement,  and  a  less  affair 
than  this  would  be  quite  sufficient  to  kindle  one.  That 
infernal  seceder,  Severns,  is  capable  of  turning  the 
whole  neighborhood  upside  down,  to  say  nothing  of  the 
Methodist  parson,  his  brother-in-law,"  And  with  an 

~*«f\v 


£20  HOLDER  WITH  CORDS. 

amiable  wish  that  he  might  see  us  both  consigned  to 
regions  unmentionable — for  I  must  stop  to  remark  that 
the  Colonel  was  a  man  of  decidedly  profane  habits  of 
speech,  which  is  nothing  "very  surprising  considering 
the  fact  that  at  one  time  and  another  he  had  taken  a 
matter  of  several  hundred  oaths,  each  one  far  surpass- 
ing in  studied  insult  to  Jehovah's  name  the  profanity 
of  an  ignorant  Irish  drayman — he  took  out  his  pocket- 
book  with  a  rather  disturbed  air  and  proceeded  to  count 
out  some  bills  which  he  handed  to  Jervish. 

The  latter  clutched  the  money  eagerly.  He  had  in 
truth  been  rather  impatient  of  the  preceding  lecture 
and  cared  little  for  the  possible  u  Antimasonic  excite- 
ment" so  vividly  present  to  the  Colonel's  imagination, 
in  the  narrower  and  more  personal  subject  of  alarm 
which  now  absorbed  his  thoughts. 

The  Colonel,  left  alone,  lit  a  cigar  and  puffed  away 
uneasily.  What  was  it  to  him — this  foul  murder  of  an 
unprotected  orphan  girl?  He  Avas  sorry  the  affair  had 
happened.  It  was  really  unfortunate.  But  with  all 
his  Masonic  degrees  of  knighthood  did  a  single  thrill 
of  indignation  at  this  double  outrage  on  the  weak  and 
defenceless,  attest  to  one  faint  spark  lingering  within 
him  of  the  true  knightly  spirit  of  old?  Did  this 
"  Prince  of  Mercy,"  who  had  dared  to  take  at  the  same 
profane  shrine  one  of  the  divinest  titles  of  the  crucified 
Redeemer — a  title  the  most  precious  to  the  heart  of  his 
church  on  earth,  and  his  brightest  crown  of  glory 
among  the  shining  ranks  of  heaven — feel  even  a  throb 
of  pure  human  regret  or  sorrow  for  the  young  life 
whose  lamp  had  gone  out  forever  in  such  starless 
gloom  ? 

I   trow   not.     He  finished   his  cigar,  sat  down   and 


MASONRY   PROTECTING  MURDERERS.  321 

wrote  a  few  hurried  lines,  addressed  to  the  village 
sheriff,  also  a  member  of  Fidelity  Lodge,  and  having 
sealed  the  note,  transmitted  it  by  a  trusty  messenger. 
He  had  learned  by  certain  former  experiences  that  it  is 
not  impossible  to  make  an  affair  even  more  k>  unfortun- 
ate" than  this  redound  to  the  glory  of  the  lodge  by  a 
skillful  use  of  those  secret  tactics  which  such  men 
know  so  thoroughly. 

Among  the  many  profane  boasts  by  which  Masonry 
and  its  kindred  order,  Odd-fellowship,  seeks  to  "  exalt 
itself  above  all  that  is  called  God  or  that  is  worshiped,'' 
we  hear  it  sometimes  said,  "  the  members  of  secret 
lodges  hang  together  better  tlfan  the  church."  Now 
this  matter  in  the  light  of  the  above  scene,  is  certainly 
worth  inquiring  into.  It  is  a  deplorable  fact  that  a 
band  of  thieves  and  murderers  will  sometimes  "  hang- 
together  "  when  a  party  of  philanthropists  will  split 
asunder  over  some  miserable  shibboleth;  but  the  reason 
for  this  is  not  hard  to  seek.  Selfishness  is  a  strong 
cement  of  union,  and  is  it  strange  that  with  our  im- 
perfect human  race  it  is  often  stronger  than  the  bond 
of  the  most  disinterested  love?  Besides,  it  must  be 
remembered  that  a  band  of  philanthropists  do  not  need 
to  u  hang  together  "  for  the  purpose  of  shielding  each 
other's  crime* — for  this  is  really  all  the  argument 
amounts  to,  though  like  other  pieces  of  lodge  sophistry 
it  palms  itself  off  on  many  an  honest  but  unreflecting 
mind  for  the  truth.  But  how  long,  oh  ye  Christian 
pastors,  will  you  let  "the  simple  perish  for  lack  of  un- 
derstanding?" How  long  shall  these  false  teachers 
''bring  in  damnable  heresies,1'  and  you,  Gallio-like, 
"  care  for  none  of  these  things?" 

The  night   wore   away.     Like   a   queen  in  gold  of 


322  HOLDEK  WITH  CORDS. 

Ophir,  all  her  garments  smelling  of  myrrh  and  aloes 
and  cassia,  rose  the  fair  regal  morning  without  a  cloud 
on  its  glory;  and  the  light  of  day  fell  at  last  on  the 
white,  up- turned  face,  and  slowly  the  village  of  Gran  by. 
woke  to  the  fact  that  murder  had  been  done. 

A  coroner's  jury  was  speedily  impanneled  and  a  post 
mortem  examination  left  no  doubt  of  the  cause  of  Mary 
Lyman's  death.  The  sudden  flight  of  the  physician  at 
whose  house  she  died  pointed  him  out  conclusively  as 
the  guilty  tool,  and  a  warrant  was  at  once  issued  for 
his  apprehension. 

A  number  of  men  started  in  pursuit,  the  majority 
being  good  and  honest  citizens  who  owned  allegiance 
to  no  power  but  their  lawful  government,  and  to  this 
circumstance,  quite  as  much  as  the  delay  caused  by  an 
accident  to  k*  the  good  fast  horse  "  on  which  he  had  re- 
lied for  safety,  was  due  the  fact  that  the  doctor  was 
overtaken  and  brought  back  to  Granby. 

His  witness  before  the  jury  cleared  up  all  remaining 
mystery  about  the  case.  Perhaps  he  thought  it  would 
be  better  for  himself  if  he  made  a  clean  breast  of  the 
whole  affair  seeing  that  the  evidence  of  his  guilt  was 
too  overwhelming  to  be  denied,  and  the  result  of  his 
testimony  was  .most  damaging  proof  against  Jervish, 
who  still  stayed  about  town,  knowing  that  his  flight  at 
this  particular  juncture  would  only  point  suspicion 
towards  him  as  the  real  author  of  Mary  Lyman's  death. 

The  proceedings  were  ex-parte — the  jury's  business 
being  simply  to  obtain  evidence  against  the  guilty 
parties.  While  we  were  in  session — for,  reader,  I  was 
on  that  jury  and  knoV  whereof  I  affirm — at  precisely 
the  point  when  this  new  witness,  whose  name  was  Dr. 
Forsyth,  though  the  name  is  immaterial  as  he  has  no 


MASONRY  PROTECTING  MURDERERS.  323 

after  connection  with  my  story,  was  about  to  give  his 
testimony,  we  were  joined  by  lawyer  Burroughs,  a 
practicing  attorney  of  the  village  and  a  member  of 
Fidelity  Lodge,  who  apparently  dropped  in  for  no  other 
purpose  than  to  kindly  aid,  with  his  legal  knowledge 
the  examinations  of  the  jury.  He  was  a  man  whose 
words  were  softer  than  oil  and  smoother  than  butter, 
though  at  need  they  could  be  sharper  than  drawn 
swords.  A  thrill  of  suspicion  shot  through  me  when 
lie  entered,  but  it  seemed  like  a  breach  of  charity  to 
think  him  actuated  by  any  other  motive  than  the  sim- 
ple desire  to  serve  justice,  so  intently  did  he  listen  to 
the  testimony,  so  earnest  did  he  appear  to  have  all  the 
facts  elicited  which  had  a  bearing  on  the  case.-  But 
when  the  closing  of  the  prisoner's  testimony  left  us 
nothing  to  do  but  to  draw  up  a  formal  warrant  for  the 
arrest  of  Maurice  Jervish,  the  before-mentioned  at- 
torney looked  at  his  watch  and  quietly  remarked: 

u  I  need  not  stay  longer  now  the  witness  is  all  in.  I 
see  it  goes  hopelessly  against  my  client,  but  as  I  am 
counsel  for  Mr.  Jervish  I  felt  bound  to  stop  and  see  it 
through."  And  so  saying  he  left  the  room,  unmindful 
of  thewndignant  surprise  which  was  visible  on  every 
face,  unless  I  except  the  only  Masonic  member  of  the 
jury  who  sat  in  a  corner  busily  trimming  his  nails,  from 
which  engrossing  occupation  he  did  not  take  the  trouble 
to  lift  his  head  as  the  door  closed  behind  the  retreating- 
attorney. 

But  another  surprise  awaited  us.  The  coroner  had 
just  penned  the  warrant,  and  it  only  waited  our  signa- 
tures, when  information  was  brought  to  the  jury-room 
th  nt  Jervish  had  fled,  having  learned — no  doubt  through 
the  Masonic  lawyer— of  Forsyth's  arrest  and  his  own 


324  HOLDER   WITH   CORDS. 

danger.  Theu,  and  not  till  then,  did  we  realize  in 
what  an  impudent  and  shameless  fashion  the  jury  had 
been  sold. 

"  Just  like  Burroughs  to  serve  us  such  a  trick,  the 
mean,  sneaking  rascal !"  broke  out  one  of  the  jurors, 
ordinarily  a  quiet  man,  but  just  now  roused  to  a  per- 
fect white  heat  of  indignant  wrath  over  this  example 
of  Masonic  double  dealing. 

"Well,  the  mischief  is  done,"  said  another;  "the 
best  thing  we  can  do  is  to  sign  the  warrant  right  off 
and  get  it  into  the  hands  of  the  sheriff  as  soon  as  we 
can.'1 

Quickly  each  man  wrote  his  name — all  but  the  Ma- 
sonic, juror.  Oh,  that  precious  hour  and  a  half  wasted 
in  trying  to  argue  with  one  whose  stupidity — if  it  had 
been  real  instead  of  pretended — ought  to'  have  con- 
signed him  to  an  asylum  of  imbeciles!  But  I  have  un- 
derstood better  ever  since  how  one  Mason  can  so  ob- 
struct the  wheels  of  law  as  to  cause  "truth  to  fall  in 
the  streets  and  turn  justice  backward.7'  For  that  hour 
and  a  half  was  improved  to  the  utmost  by  Jervish  in 
making  his  escape. 

The  next  thing  was  to  put  the  writ  in  the  hands  of 
the  sheriff,  but  in  vain  we  waited  to  hear  news  of  Jer- 
vish' arrest.  Sheriff  Simonds  had  his  own  notions  of 
Masonic  duty  which  agreed  very  well  with  those  en- 
tertained by  Colonel  Montfort.  The  hitter's  note  the 
previous  evening  had  done  its  work,  though  my  knowl- 
edge that  he  influenced  the  sheriff  to  betray  his  official 
trust  by  a  reference  to  his  Masonic  obligations,  and  a 
promise  that  the  lodge  would  shield  him  from  conse- 
quences, as  well  as  other  incidents  here  related,  has 
been  pieced  out  from  the  various  disclosures  that  leaked 


MASONRY  PROTECTING  MURDERERS.  325 

out  at  different  times  either  through  legal  investiga- 
tion or  the  less  formal  process  of  hearsay. 

Hour  after  hour  passed.  Men  gathered  in  knots,  ex- 
cited, indignant,  and  talked  the  matter  over,  indulging 
in  free  comments  on  the  shameful  inactivity  of  the 
sheriff,  as  well  as  the  conduct  of  Burroughs  in  contriv- 
ing to  possess  himself  of  all  the  testimony  against  Jer- 
vish,  and  then  going  straight  from  the  jury-room  to 
warn  his  client.  And  as  the  talk  went  on  it  was  easy 
to  see  that  the  smouldering  fires  of  popular  indigna- 
tion needed  but  slight  fanning  to  burst  into  a  fierce 
flame.  There  is  something  awful  in  such  a  rising  of 
outraged  justice  when  the  people  unite  as  one  man  to 
execute  vengeance.  I  know  of  but  one  thing  more 
terrible  to  meet — the  face  of  the  Judge  in  the  Great 
Day  of  his  wrath. 

Before  the  sun  set  Colonel  Montfort  and  his  clique 
were  likely  to  get  such  a  dose  of  Antimasonic  excite- 
ment as  they  little  calculated  on. 

11  The  sheriff  is  a  Mason  and  an  Odd-fellow.  He 
don't  want  to  arrest  Jervish,  that's  plain  to  be  seen."  I 
heard  remarked  in  one  of  these  excited  groups.  Ma- 
sons and  Odd-fellows  are  bound  to  stand  by  each  other. 
That's  what  they  all  say.1' 

"  Well  I  don't  know  much  about  the  Odd-fellows, 
only  they  and  the  Masons  seem  to  be  hand  and  glove 
together,"  observed  another.  "  I've  heard  it  said  that 
Masonry  was  a  good  thing  for  some  of  our  men  when 
they  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  rebels  in  the  war,  but 
when  it  conies  to  secreting  and  running  off  criminals 
there's  two  sides  to  the  question." 

"I've  got  a  story  to 'tell  on  that  point,"  spoke  up  a 
man  who  wore  a  soldier's  coat.  "  When  1  was  in  the 


326  HOLDER  WITH  CORDS. 

army  I  used  to  see  a  good  deal  of  Masonry — from  the 
outside,  I  never  was  one  myself.  I  know  one  of  our 
colonels  that  in  the  battle  of  South  Mountain  would 
have  been  cashiered  for  cowardice  if  he  hadn't  been  a 
Mason.  Somehow  the  court-martial  didn't  convict, 
and  not  a  great  while  after  he  was  promoted.  But 
that  ain't,  the  story  [  was  going  to  tell.  I  was  in  Ous- 
ter's command  and  a  batch  of  us  were  taken  prisoners 
by  guerilla  General  Mosby.  He  ordered  that  seven 
drawn  by  lot  be  hung  in  retaliation  for  the  hanging  of 
seven  of  his  men  by  the  Unionists.  Among  those  that 
drew  the  marked  ball  was  a  lieutenant  that  I  knew 
very  well.  I  never  saw  these  men  again.  They  were 
carried  off  to  a  place  near  Sheridan's  headquarters  and 
hung.  I  and  some  others  got  exchanged  after  a  while 
and  about  a  year  afterward  I  met  this  same  lieutenant 
alive  and  well.  4 1  thought  you  wan't  in  the  land  of 
the  living,'  says  I,  when  we  came  to  speak.  'I  shouldn't 
have  been,' says  he,  '  if  I  hadn't  been  a  Mason;  that 
saved  my  life.'  I  tell  you  I  thought  Masonry  was  a 
mighty  good  thing  after  hearing  that,  and  1  had  agreat 
idea  of  joining  them  myself,  but  there's  a  sequel  to  it 
as  they  say.  When  the  war  was  over  I  fell  in  with  a 
man  that  had  been  a  Confederate  soldier  and  knew  all 
about  the  hanging  of  these  men — saw  it  done.  Well. 
I  asked  about  the  lieutenant.  'He  was  a  Freemason.' 
says  he;  'I  saw  him  give  the  sign  to  my  colonel  and 
saw  him  return  it.  The  colonel  went  off  and  a  little 
while  after  he  came  back  with  two  prisoners  of  his  own 
that  he  handed  to  the  officer  who  had  charge  of  the 
affair.  They  were  placed  on  the  fatal  line  instead  of 
the  lieutenant,  who  was  set  free-,  and  their  two  lives 
went  for  his." 


MASONRY  PROTECTING  MURDERERS.  32t 

A  thrill  of  horror  ran  through  the  group,  which  was 
now  considerably  enlarged.  The  soldier's  story  had 
only  added  fuel  to  the  fire.  Every  minute  the  excite- 
ment deepened  as  fresh  cause  in  the  continued  inactivity 
of  the  sheriff  or  some  rumor  of  a  new  attempt  on  the 
part  of  the  lodge  to  thwart  justice,  fanned  the  flame. 

Suddenly  the  cry  rose  up,  at  first  from  a  single 
throat,  then  caught  up  and  repeated  by  others,  "  Tear 
doAvn  Burroughs'  office!  Lynch  the  Masonic  scoun- 
drel!" 

•  The  mob  spirit^was  fast  taking  possession  of  fhe 
crowd,  which,  now  swelled  to  hundreds,  had  gathered 
about  the  court-house,  when  a  clear,  commanding  voice, 
addressing  them  from  the  steps  of  the  building,  made 
a  temporary  silence, 

"  These  men  are  acting  on  their  own  responsibility 
and  not  in  accordance  with  their  obligations  as  Masons. 
While  I  utterly  denounce  the  conduct  of  the  sheriff  as 
a  most  base  betrayal  of  his  official  duty,  I  appeal  to 
you,  fellow  townsmen  and  citizens,  to  come  to  the  aid 
of  the  law,  and  allow  no  deed  of  violence  to  be  com- 
mitted which  will  only  obstruct  its  course.  Justice 
shall  be  done.  1  ask  your  help  in  ferreting  out  the 
murderer,  and  when  he  is  found  rest  assured  that  no 
lodge  obligation,  real  or  fancied,  shall  screen  him  from 
the  punishment  he  deserves.'1 

"  The  clear,  ringing  voice  penetrated  to  the  farthest 
edge  of  the  crowd.  The  speaker  himself  stood  in  fair 
view,  his  dark  eyes  glowing  like  coals  of  fire  under  the 
full,  massive  brow,  his  pale  face  paler  by  contrast. 
Everybody  knew  him — Anson  Lovejoy,  Master  of  the 
lodge. 

There  is  a  mighty  force  in  simple  sincerity.     Not  a 


328  HOLDER  WITH  CORDS. 

man  in  that  excited  throng  ahhorrecl  more  intensely 
the  crime  which  had  been  committed  than  did  he,  or 
felt  a  more  burning  desire  to  see  insulted  law  avenged 
in  the  speedy  arrest  of  the  criminal.  And  when  he 
threw  the  odium  of  all  this  obstructing  of  justice  on 
the  shoulders  of  individual  Masons  instead  of  the  lodge 
itself,  there  were  enough  who  believed  him  in  the  face 
of  their  own  previous  convictions,  not  to  say  the  evi- 
dence of  their  own  senses,  to  make  a  perceptible  differ- 
ence in  the  attitude  of  the  crowd.  A  more  calm  and 
reasonable  spirit  was  succeeding  the,  tumultuous  ex- 
citement which  had  threatened  at  one  time  to  end  in 
mob  violence.  The  advocates  of  lynch  law  were  silent 
and  under  the  reaction  thus  made  the  throng  slowly 
and  by  degrees  dispersed. 

A  few  hours  later  I  was  at  home  attending  to  some 
duty  about  the  farm  when  Anson  Lovejoy  came  hurried- 
ly up,  his  face  still  pale  but  settled  into  those  grave, 
determined  lines  which  speak  the  man  whose  whole 
soul  is  roused  to  meet  a  crisis. 

u  Mr.  Severns,  I  want  the  loan  of  your  fastest  horse- 
I  have  just  received  news  that  Jervish  has  left  his  hid- 
ing place  where  he  has  been  secreted  all  this  time  and 
hired  a  man  by  the  name  of  Leach  to  take  him  across 
the  river.  This  Leach  is  a  poor,  worthless  fellow,  who 
never  has  any  money  and  is  therefore  easily  bribed." 

"What  will  Masons  think  of  your  action  in  this 
matter?"  I  said,  as  I  threw  the  halter  over  the  neck  of 
the  beautiful  roan,  acknowledged  one  of  the  fastest 
steeds  in  the  neighborhood,  and  led  him  out.  "  Depend 
upon  it,  your  part  in  to-day's  affair  will  never  be  over- 
looked or  forgiven  by  the  lodge." 

u  I  care  not,"  he  answered,  "  I  am  acting  up  to  my 


MASOKRY   PROTECTING  MURDERERS.  329 

Masonic  obligations  as  I  understand  them.  God  do  so 
to  me  and  more  also  if  I  knowingly  leave  a  single  stone 
unturned  that  is  hindering  the  way  of  justice." 

He  spoke  with  solemn,  almost  tierce  earnestness — 
then,  after  an  instant's  silence,  added  in  his  usual  tone, 
"  While  you  are  getting  the  horse  ready  I  will  speak 
with  Mrs.  Severns  a  moment,"  and  so  saying  he  stepped 
quickly  across  to  the  open  side  door  where  he  had 
always  until  now  met  with  the  ready  admittance  ac- 
corded to  a  friend  and  neighbor. 

What  he  was  going  to  say  to  Rachel  I  know  not,  for 
he  was  given  no  chance  to  say  it,  but  I  think  a  desire  to 
have  her  God  speed  in  the  task  to  which  he  had  set 
himself  prompted  the  action. 

Rachel  met  him  just  as  he  was  entering,  with  stern 
face  and  forbidding  gesture.  She  had  not  heard  his 
conversation  with  me  or  very  likely  would  not  have 
addressed  him  exactly  as  she  did. 

u  Not  a  step  farther.  No  murderer  or  companion  of 
murderers  crosses  my  threshold." 

"Mrs.  Severns!"  he  exclaimed,  startled,  astonished. 

"  I  mean  what  I  say,"  she  answered,  firmly.  u  You 
uphold  this  dark,  unclean  system  of  the  lodge  and  thus 
make  yourself  a  partaker  in  the  innocent  blood  it  has 
shed.  '  Go!" 

The  reader  mush  excuse  Rachel,  unjust  as  she  was, 
for  her  very  soul  was  boiling  within  her,  and  this 
passionate  outburst  was  due  to  a  deeper  cause  than  the 
common  feeling  of  indignation  which  possessed  the 
community  at  large.  In  divine  faith  that  she  might 
yet  redeem  to  virtue  and  happiness  the  erring  soul 
which  had  mistaken  a  cold,  deceiving  mirage  for  the 
water  of  affection,  and  for  whom  henceforth  society 


380  HOLDEK  WITH  CORDS. 

would  have  no  use  but  to  cast  out  and  trample  under 
foot,  she  had  planned  and  labored  as  only  a  Christian 
woman  can.  And  this  was  the  terrible  ending!  The 
prey  for  which  she  had  wrestled  with  Satan  had  been 
basely,  cruelly  torn  out  of  her  hand,  and  she  felt  some- 
thing of  the  fury  of  the  bereaved  lioness  when  she  con- 
fronted Anson  Lovejoy. 

"I  assure  you,  Mrs.  Severns,"  he  began  again,  and 
again  she  interrupted  him.  though  this  time  her  voice 
was  a  trifle  softer,  her  manner  a  shade  gentler. 

"  I  accuse  you  of  nothing  but  of  being  allied  to  such 
a  system.  And  that  is  enough.  Shall  a  man  take  fire 
in  his  bosom  and  not  be  burned?  No.  Mr.  Lovejoy,  no 
adhering  Mason  from  henceforth  receives  a  welcome 
under  my  roof." 

And  she  turned  from  him  and  walked  away,  leaving 
the  victim  of  this  severe  castigation  to  recover  from  it 
as  well  as  he  could.  And  certainly  for  a  moment  An- 
son Lovejoy  looked  rather  dejected.  He  was  without 
domestic  ties,  his  wife  having  died  in  the  first  year  of 
their  marriage,  and  I  well  understood,  or  thought  I  did, 
how  this  sudden  closing  against  him  of  ^  home  where 
he  had  always  been  a  welcome  guest,  dropping  in  at 
any  time  when  his  business  permitted,  thus  seeming  to 
find  some  faint,  shadowy  compensation  for  his  own 
buried  joys,  would  naturally  affect  him. 

But  he  quickly  recovered  himself,  and  going  to  where 
the  horse  now  stood  in  readiness  leaped  into  the  saddle. 
As  he  did  so  I  took  occasion  to  say — 

"Rachel  has  a  sharp  tongue,  but  her  heart  is  all 
right.  Some  time  she  will  see  that  she  has  done  you 
injustice." 

"I  hope  so.  Mr.  Severns."  he  answered.     "But" — 


MASONRY  PROTECTING  MURDERERS.  331 

and  lie  spoke  with  the  grave,  slo\v  emphasis  of  one  re- 
cording a  vow — uif  Masonry  is  what  from  this  day's 
work  I  have  reason  to  fear  it  is,  and  I  remain  connect- 
ed with  it  an  hour  longer  than  I  can  help,  I  shall  merit 
the  sever-est  denunciations  she  has  heaped  upon  me." 

And  he  rode  swiftly  away  to  join  the  pursuing  party, 
which  had  halted  at  an  appointed  place  of  meeting,  and 
were  now  discussing  which  of  two  different  roads  the 
fugitive  had  probably  taken.  A  few  outsiders  had 
gathered  about,  among  them,  the  sheriff,  who  seemed  to 
take  an  extraordinary  interest  in  the  settling  of  this 
question  considering  his  previous  inactivity. 

u  I  tell  you,  Lovejoy,  if  you  take  the  direction  of  Qui- 
paw  Creek  you'll  miss  it,"  he  said,  excitedly.  ''  Jervish 
has  gone  more  south." 

"  My  men  are  on  the  right  track,"  returned  Lovojoy, 
composedly,  in  whose  mind  the  last  lingering  doubt 
whether  he  was  really  taking  the  roui^e  Jervish  had 
gone  was  now  dispelled  by  the  sheriff's  evident  anxiety 
to  have  him  go  the  opposite  way. 

u  But  I  tell  you,1'  repeated  the  sheriff  in  still  more 
excited  tones,  "a  man  told  me  not  more  than  an  hour 
ago  that  he  had  met  him  and  Leach  on  the  road." 

This  piece, of  information  made  some  of  the  party 
waver  but  had  no  effect  on  their  staunch  leader,  who 
issued  his  command  J;o  set  off  at  once  in  the  direction 
of  Quipaw  Creek,  at  which  the  sheriff  called  to  his  aid 
considerable  profanity,  not  necessary  to  repeat,  in.  con- 
firmation of  what  he  had  said,  provoking  from  one  of 
the  number  as  they  rode  away  this  satirical  speech— 

kt  Set  the  fox  to  guard  the  hen-coop,  will  ye?  When 
I  do  that  I'll  take  advice  from  a  Mason.  If  you  Knew 
all  this  about  Jervish  an  hour  ago  why  wan't  you  off 


HOLDEK   WITH   CORDS. 

after  him  instead  of  loafing  about  with  the  coroner's 
warrant  lying  idle  in  your  pocket?" 

And  the  discomforted  sheriff,  who  had'  certainly 
striven  heroically  to  fulfil  his  Masonic  obligations,  re- 
tired amid  more  hooting  and  jeering  than  was  quite 
pleasant. 

Swiftly,  steadity,  the  pursuers  pressed  on,  and  before 
long  came  in  sight  of  a  common  farm  wagon  apparent- 
ly loaded  with  meal-bags.  The  driver  of  the  wagon 
was  quickly  recognized  by  several  of  the  party  to  whom 
he  was  well  known,  as  the  man  who  had  undertaken  to 
aid  Jervish  in  his  flight.  But  Leach  sat  alone  on  the 
seat,  driving.  Where  was  his  companion? 

An  order  from  Lovejoy  to  search  the  wagon  soon  set- 
tled this  question.  The  vehicle  was  found  to  be  so  ar- 
ranged by  sticks  laid  across — the  seeming  meal-bags, 
which  were  in  reality  stuffed  with  hay,  placed  on  these, 
and  high  enough  from  the  floor  of  the  wagon  to  make 
a  hiding  place  for  the  miserable  Jervish,  who  was  now 
ignominiously  dragged  therefrom,  and  Colonel  Mont- 
fort's  friend,  the  elegant  man  of  society,  spent  that 
night  in  the  county  jail  to  the  great  satisfaction  of  all 
worthy  citizens  of  Granby,  with  whom,  now  that  the 
chief  criminal  was  caught,  the  Antimasonic  excitement 
subsided  as  rapidly  as  it  rose. 

i 


CHAPTER   XXXVI. 

SOME    EXAMPLES   OF   MASONIC    BENEVOLENCE    AND    MOR- 
ALITY. 

>ALF  a  dozen  summers  previous  to  the 
one  in  which  occurred  the  scenes  related 
in  the  last  chapter,  there  happened  one 
of  those  common  and  yet  most  sad 
events,  a  serious  accident  to  a  laboring 
man  with  a  wife  and  children  dependent 
upon  him  for  their  daily  bread.  He  was  a 
carpenter  and  fell  from  an  imperfectly  built 
staging,  receiving  severe  internal  injuries  that 
resulted  in  his  death  after  a  year  of  lingering  illness. 
u  The  lodge  will  see  to  you  and  the  children,"  whis- 
pered the  dying  man  to  his  weeping  wife,  whose  always 
delicate  health  had  been  shattered  by  incessant  watch- 
ing at  the  bedside  of  her  sick  husband,  and,  knowing 
that  his  death  would  leave  her  without  a  penny,  could 
not  see  in  the  dark  night  of  approaching  widowhood 
the -glimmer  of  a  single  star  of  earthly  hope.  "I've 
always  paid  my  dues  regular  till  that  accident  hap- 
pened. The  lodge  owes  it  to  me  to  see  that  you  and 
the  children  are  well  provided  for." 

''  They  have  given  us  in  all  but  twenty  dollars  since 
you  have  been  sick,*'  answered  the  wife,  who  was  only  a 


334  HOLDEN  WITH  CORDS. 

woman  and  reasoned  as  women  are  apt  to  in  such  mat- 
ters. "  That  is  but  a  fraction  of  what  you  have  paid 
them  at  one  time  and  another.  And  I  am  sure  we  have 
needed  the  money.1' 

•;  I  know  twenty  dollars  don't  go  a  great  ways,  but 
we've  rubbed  along.  And  now  I've  got  pretty  uigh  the 
end,  so  there'll  be  all  the  more  for  you  and  the  chil- 
dren." 

His  wife  was  silent.  She  had  her  misgivings,  but  not 
for  worlds  would  she  breathe  the  shadow  of  a  doubt 
into  the  ear  of  that  soul  that  was  passing  into  eternity, 
happy  in  the  thought  that  he  belonged  to  a  brother- 
hood which  made  the  widow  and  the  orphan  the  objects 
of  its  especial  care. 

That  night  he  died.  The  lodge  buried  him  with 
Christies  prayers  and  dirges,  an-d,  to  do  it  justice, 
spared  none  of  the  honors  to  which  a  defunct  "worthy 
brother  "  is  Masonically  entitled.  The  widow's  hopes 
revived.  Surely  they  who  would  do  so  much  for  the 
dead  would  have  a  care  for  the  living.  But  the  lodge, 
when  applied  to  for  assistance,  viewed  the  matter  in  a 
slightly  different  light. ,  For,  to  state  the  simple  truth, 
a  number  of  grand  suppers  given  by  the  fraternity, 
sundry  bills  of  cost  for  regalia,  gloves,  aprons,  etc.,  to 
say  nothing  of  a  great  many  extras  for  wine,  beer  and 
cigars,  had  swallowed  up  so  much  of  the  charity  fund 
as  to  leave  the  lodge  in  no  condition  to  heed  her  ap- 
peal. But  it  must  not  be  supposed  that  any  such  ex- 
planation of  the  case  was  given  to  the  indigent  widow 
when  she  asked  for  further  aid.  Oh,  no.  She  was 
coolly  told  that  her  husband  had  not  paid  his  dues  for 
a  year,  and  they  had  done  all  that  could  reasonably  bo 
expected  of  them  in  giving  him  Masonic  burial,. 


MASONIC  BENEVOLENCE.  335 

She  could  not  prove  that  the  lodge  had  taken  her 
husband's  money  and  paid  him  back,  not  counting  in- 
terest, scarce  a  fifth  part  of  what  was  his  actual  due. 
The  widow  struggled  along  for  a  while;  a  few  individ- 
ual Masons  contributed  to  her  relief  from  their  own 
pockets,  but  as  benevolently  inclined  persons  are  to  be 
found  everywhere  and  the  lodge  collectively  had  noth- 
ing to  do  with  these  contributions,  it  niny  be  fair  to 
infer  that  they  might  possibly  have  done  the  same 
thing  whether  Masons  or  not.  It  was  a  hopeless 
struggle  even  with  occasional  aid  from  private  charity. 
Her  health  completely  broke  down  at  last.  Her  two 
children  were  bound  out,  while  she  went  to  the  alms- 
house  as  her  only  refuge^  dying  there  soon  after  in  a 
quick  consumption. 

Death,  in  separating  her  from  her  children,  however, 
spared  her,  as  death  so  often  does,  the  pang  of  a  deeper 
anguish — for  she  was  Mary  Lyman's  mother. 

It  doesn't  matter  where  I  gathered  these  facts. 
They  are  true.  This  is  not  a  statistical  book  or  else  I 
should  be  tempted  to  give  a  few  figures  that  would 
demonstrate  to  the  most  skej^ical  that  the  benevolence 
of  the  lodge  is  on  a  par  with  its  morality — a  hollow 
sham,  a  whited  sepulchre. 

Mary  Lyman's  father  was  a  Mason,  but  this  fact  did 
not  save  her  from  ruin  and  death  at  the  hands  of  a 
brother  Mason  who  had  solemnly  sworn  to  preserve  in- 
violate the  chastity  of  all  women  with  near  Masonic 
kindred,  though  with  this  very  convenient  little  pro- 
viso attached,  "knowing  them  to  be  such" 

Women  of  America,  do  you  hold  your  purity  so 
lightlv  that  you  can  afford  to  countenance  such  a  system 
as  this ?  Will  you,  knowing  these  things,  still  continue 


336  HOLDER  WITH  COEDS. 

to  smile  on  the  lodge  and  accept  its  slimy  favors?  Sis- 
ters of  the  Church  of  Christ,  does  it  matter  nothing:  to 
you  that  Masonry  rejects  his  name  from  her  ritual  as 
"  too  sectarian  and  tramples  his  atoning  blood  under 
foot  by  teaching  another  way  of  salvation  ?  that  by  the 
testimony  of  her  own  writers  she  traces  back  her  origin 
to  the  ancient  heathen  mysteries  with  their  abomina- 
ble rites  of  darkness,  and  aspires,  as  we  learn  from  the 
same  unquestionable  source,  to  become  finally  u  the 
universal  religion  of  manhood?"  Can  you  pray  for 
the  speedy  coming  of  Christ's  millennial  reign  and  be 
indifferent  to  the  fact  that  another  kingdom  is  being 
set  up  in  which  he  has  neither  part  nor  lot?  Will  you 
apologize  for  such  a  system?  defend  it  by  your  silence 
or  worse  still  "  care  nothing  about  it?"  As  it  rejects 
Christ,  so  it  has  no  place  for  woman,  and  should  the 
day  ever  dawn  when  Masonry  becomes  the  universal 
religion,  God  help  her! 

Rachel  herself  gathered  the  flowers  from  her  own 
garden  to  lay  about  the  dead  girl's  white,  still  form. 
She  placed  a  half-opened  rosebud  between  the  closed 
fingers,  kissed  the  cold  forehead,  and  with  solemn  words 
of  prayer  that  seemed  in  their  tender,  impassioned 
earnestness  like  a  personal  appeal  to  that  infinite,  un- 
changing Pity  which  is  at  the  heart  of  God  in  Christ, 
visibly  manifested  before  his  eyes — it  was  Elder  Sted- 
man  who  performed  the  last  services — Mary  Lyman 
was  laid  away  in  a  corner  of  the  potter's  field  outside 
the  cemetery  to  slumber  till  the  resurrection  morning. 

But  before  the  grave  had  set  its  seal  of  corruption  on 
the  statuesque  beauty  of  a  single  lineament  her  mur- 
derer was  released  on  a  writ  of  habeas  corpus  and  ad- 
mitted to  bail ! 


MASONIC  BENEVOLENCE.  337 

Elder  Stedman,  when  the  funeral  was  over,  came 
back  to  our  house;  but,  unheeding  the  cup  of  tea  that 
Rachel  poured  out  for  him.  he  paced  up  and  down  the 
room  in  stern  and  solemn  silence,  broken  at  last  by 
these  abrupt  words — 

"I  have  been  like  one  of  the  foolish  prophets.  I 
have  healed  the  hurt  of  the  daughter  of  my  people 
slightly.  God  forgive  me.  Henceforth  every  faculty 
of  mind  and  body  shall  be  devoted  to  an  unceasing 
warfare  against  this  dragon  of  Masonry  that  stands 
like  his  prototype  in  Revelation  ready  to  engulf  and 
and  swallow  the  church  with  the  devouring  flood  he 
casts  out  of  his  mouth.1" 

"  Why,  Mark;'1  said  I,  "you  do  yourself  injustice. 
When  hardly  a  preacher  in  these  parts  dares  to  men- 
tion Masonry  you  have  scourged  it  unsparingly  from 
the  pulpit.  What  can  you  do  more?" 

"  I  tell  you,  Leander,"  said  Mark,  pausing  a  moment 
in  his  agitated  walk,  "  I  feel  as  if  I  had  only  tickled  the 
monster  by  throwing  wooden  darts  at  him.  Hence- 
forth it  must  be  a  hand  to  hand  combat.  Only 
the  iron  of  truth  can  penetrate  between  the  scales  of 
his  armor,  for,  like  Apollyon,  his  scales  are  his  pride. 
I  must  lecture  as  well  as  preach  on  this  subject." 

"But  Mark,"  I  answered,  a  little  startled,  uyou  will 
only  rouse  persecution.  A  good  many  people  seem  to 
think  Masonry  is  like  the  Giant  Pope  Christian  saw 
sitting  in  the  mouth  of  his  cave — too  old  and  decrepit 
to  hurt.  But  I  know  better.  The  lodge  don't  care 
much  for  a  few  side  thrusts,  but  attack  it  at  close 
quarters  and  you  will  find  that  it  can  turn  with  as 
deadly  vengeance  as  it  did  in  Morgan's  day." 

a  Well,"  answered  the  Elder,  quietly,  ^  I  am  old  and 


338  HOLDEN  WITH  CORDS. 

gray-headed  now,  and  a  few  years  of  life  less  or  more 
matters  little  to  me.  There  is  a  conflict  coining  and 
woe  unto  me  if  I  gird  noc  on  my  armor  to  meet  it.  My 
old  belief  comes  back  to  me.  This  is  going  to  be  no 
ordinary -contest.  It  is  the  battle  of  Armageddon,  the 
last  great  conflict  before  the  final  end." 

Mark  .spoke  with  the  same  kindling  eyes  and  solemn 
fervor  with  which  he  had  dilated  on  this  very  same 
subject  forty  years  before. 

u  I  have  had  some  such  thoughts  myself,"  I  answered, 
after  a  moment's  silence.  "  Organized  secrecy  seems 
to  be  Satan's  last  and  most  cunning  move.  In  the  old 
pagan  and  popery  times  he  tried  to  conquer  the  church 
by  sheer  open  force.  Now  he  is  trying  to  undermine 
the  citadel,  and  the  worst  of  it  is  the  church  won't  be 
roused  to  see  her  danger.  However,  I  suppose  I  can  no 
more  keep  y ou  out  of  the  battle  than  I  could  Job's  war- 
horse.  Only  have  a  care  of  yourself,  Mark,  for  Han- 
nah's sake." 

The  Elder  started  as  if  I  had  touched  a  tender  chord, 
for  he  and  Hannah  were  a  lonely  couple  now.  Of  their 
two  sons,  one  had  died  in  the  service  of  his  country, 
the  other  was  a  toiling  missionary  on  the  far-off  soil  of 
southern  Africa.  But  it  was  only  for  an  instant,  then 
the  pole  star  of  his  life  shone  out  clear  and  steady. 

"I  told  Hannah  the  day  she  married  me  that  she 
must  take  me  as  the  Covenanter  John  Brown  took  his 
wife,  Isabel,  with  the  assurance  that  when  she  least 
expected  it  the  hand  of  violence  might  part  him  from 
her..  We  have  learned  to  hold  nothing  back— not  even 
each  other." 

But  while  the  Elder  was  thus  absorbed  in  thoughts 
of  that  great  pre-millennial  contesLivhich  he  believed 


KASONIC  BENEVOLENCE.  339 

Was  approaching,  Colonel  Montfort  was  likewise  think- 
ing— though  011  a  different  subject  and  with  a  good 
cigar  to  aid  the  process.  Two  difficult  tasks  lay  before 
him;  one  was  the  triumphant  delivery  of  Maurice  Jer- 
vish  from  the  hands  of  justice,  the  other  was  the  sacri- 
fice of  Anson  Lovejoy  to  violated  Masonic  law. 

The  Colonel  was  not  a  man  of  generous  impulses, 
and  had  there  been  no  other  tie  between  him  and  Mary 
Lyman's  murderer  than  mere  friendship,  he  would  in 
all  probability  have  washed  his  hands  of  him.  He  de- 
sired to  shield  Jervish,  firstly  and  primarily,  because 
the  honor  and  glory  of  Masonry  demanded  it.  What 
was  to  become  of  the  fraternity  if  its  members  could 
claim  110  special  privileges  over  honest  men?  A  vital 
question  to  the  Colonel,  who  knew  very  well  that  there 
had  been  times  in  his  own  political  and  military  career 
when  he  might  have  fared  badly  if  the  shielding  of 
efich  other's  crimes  had  formed  no  part  of  lodge  obli- 
gations. However  hopeless  the  situation  might  appear 
to  un-Masonic  eyes,  in  the  light  of  these  encouraging 
items  of  his  past  experience,  the  Colonel  did  not  despair 
of  bringing  off  his  friend  with  flying  colors.  It  was 
over  another  subject  that  he  spent  the  most  anxious 
thought,  and  consumed  the  greatest  number  of  cigars. 

He  hated  Anson  Lovejoy  as  wickedness  will  always 
hate  rectitude.  He  was  furious  that  he  had  dared  to 
pursue  Jervish  and  deliver  him  over  to  the  grasp  of 
the  law;  and  as  the  controlling  spirit  of  the  lodge  he 
was  well  aware  how  very  easily  the  wrath  of  the  fra- 
ternity against  him  coul<ji  be  made  to  bring  forth  its 
legitimate  fruit — murder.  Nor  is  it  too  much  to  say  of 
the  Colonel  that  he  knew  he  could  at  any  moment  put 
his  finder  on  the  men  who  would  not  scruple  to  dispose 


&40  HOLDER  WITH  CORDS. 

of  Anson  Lovejoy  after  the  most  approved  Masonic 
fashion.  The  possibility  however  of  another  Antima- 
sonic  excitement  was  a  factor  which  continually  came 
in  and  disturbed  the  Colonel's  reckoning,  for  he  was  a 
man  accustomed  to  weigh  duly  all  the  pros  and  cons 
before  committing  himself  to  a  course  of  action  which 
might  entail  disagreeable  consequences.  But  his  hatred 
of  Lovejoy  burned  with  so  intense  a  flame  that  for  once 
passion  overpowered  the  cool  and  calculating  selfish- 
ness which  with  him  as  with  most  men  of  that  peculiar 
caliber  was  the  governing  principle  of  his  life. 

The  sound  of  his  name  spoken  in  low  and  cautious 
tones  by  some  one  standing  outside  broke  in  upon  the 
Colonel's  meditations.  He  rose  and,  opening  the  long 
window,  stepped  out  upon  the  piazza.  A  man  stood 
there  in  the  moonlight,  a  prominent  member  of  Fidel- 
ity Lodge. 

"Oh,  it  is  you,  Mugford.  I  suppose  all  the  arrange- 
ments are  made  then;  but  don't  let  too  many  into  the 
secret.  Half  a  dozen  would  be  enough  if  the  affair  was 
managed  properly.'1 

"  I've  talked  with  Golding  and  Peck  and  the  others. 
They  will  be  all  ready  to  do  their  part  when  the  time 
comes.  But  Whitby  we  can't  depend  on  I  am  afraid. 
He  hangs  back." 

The  Colonel  muttered  an  oath. 

"  Well,  shut  his  mouth  up  some  way.  If  he  is  dis- 
posed to  blab  give  him  a  hint  that  we  know  how  to 
manage  traitors.  We  can  deal  with  one  as  well  as  an- 
other." And  after  a  little  more  conversation  of  like 
tenor  the  two  conspirators  separated. 

Masonic  murders  would  be  much  more  common  than 
is  happily  the  case  if  the  brethren  everywhere  lived  up 


MASONIC  BENEVOLENCE.  341 

to  their  obligations;  but  just  as, the  majority  of  slave- 
holders were  far  more  humane  than  the  system  which 
gave  them  irresponsible  power,  so  Masons  as  a  rule  are 
better  than  the  institution  which  swears  its  devotees  to 
bring  every  traitor  to  "strict  and  condign  punishment." 
Among  the  hardened  and  desperate  men,  the  rowdies, 
gamblers  and  drunkards  who  surrounded  Colonel  Mont- 
fort  and  moved  obsequiously  to  do  his  bidding,  there 
was  one  who  shrank  from  the  crime  of  secret  assassina- 
tion. The  result  was  that  Ansou  Lovejoy  the  next  day 
received  from  an  unknown  source  a  much  crumpled 
note  with  a  rude  imitation  of  the  square  and  compass 
in  the  corner,  which  after  correcting  some  peculiarities 
of  orthography  ran  as  follows: 

"Don't  go  to  the  lodge  to-night.  They  mean  to  ask  you  to  resign,  then  drag 
you  from  the  chair  if  you  refuse,  and  murder  you  in  the  lodge-room.  In  the 
scuffle  it  will  never  be  known  who  struck  the  blow.  If  you  value  your  life,  stay 
away.  A  FRIEND  AND  A  MASON." 

"How  do  I  know  but  this  is  a  mere  foolish  trick  to 
frighten  me?"  said  Lovejoy.  u  It  would  look  too  cow- 
ardly to  stay  away.  I  can't  do  it." 

*l  No,"  I  said,  earnestly, "  this  is  no  trick  but  a  friend- 
ly warning.  You  must  heed  it." 

Lovejoy  stood  irresolute.  I  knew  he  felt  as  a  brave 
man  always  does  at  the  thought  of  saving  his  life  by 
what  seems  like  cowardly  flight  from  a  post  of  duty. 

"I  have  thought  of  a  plan,"  I  said,  after  a  moment's 
silence.  u  Go  to  the  lodge  to-night  as  usual,  and  your 
life  shall  be  protected." 

"How?" 

"  Station  a  guard  round  the  lodge.  There  are  plenty 
of  Antimasons  in  Granby  that  would  rather  enjoy 
serving  in  such  a  capacity.  Take  your  seat  in  the 
chair  precisely  as  at  any  ordinary  meeting,  and  as  soon 


342  HOLDER  WITH  CORDS. 

as  there  is  the  least  attempt  at  violence,  give  the  signal 
and  we  will  burst  open  the  door  and  rush  in." 

u  That  will  do,"  he  said,  after  a  moment's  delibera- 
tion. "  No  better  plan  could  be  devised." 

And  with  the  understanding  that  I  should  as  quickly 
and  quietly  as  possible  gather  a  force  sufficient  for  his 
protection,  Anson  Lovejoy  prepared  to  front  the  men 
who  had  secretly  banded  together  to  take  his  life.  For 
what?  For  violating  his  Masonic  obligations.  In 
other  words,  for  daring  to  do  his  duty  as  an  honest, 
God-fearing  citizen  of  this  free  Republic,  consecrated 
to  liberty  by  the  blood  and  tears  of  our  forefathersv  yet 
fostering  in  its  bosom  a  dark  and  terrible  despotism 
which,  when  its  laws  are  violated,  knows  neither  mercy 
nor  forgiveness,  allows  of  no  appeal  from  its  sentence, 
and  punishes  without  the  form  of  trial. 

Although  the  tide  of  popular  excitement  in  Granby 
had  subsided  with  the  arrest  of  Jervish,  it  left,  as  such 
excitements  usually  do,  a  deposit  behind  it.  Firm  and 
settled  conviction  had  taken  in  many  minds  the  place 
of  ignorance  and  doubt.  Pronounced  Antimasons  were 
scarce  before;  now  they  were  very  common.  Conse- 
quently I  found  no  difficulty  in  gathering  a  force  suffi- 
ciently large  to  surround  the  lodge  and  prevent  the 
threatened  attack  on  Anson  Lovejoy. 

We  allowed  the  brethren  time  to  assemble,  and  then 
inarching  silently  from  our  place  of  rendezvous  we 
took  our  stations  around  the  building,  scarcely  daring 
to  breathe  lest  some  sound  should  escape  our  ears  from 
the  upper  room  where  the  lodge  was  meeting. 

Meanwhile  Lovejoy  had  seated  himself  in  the  Master's 
chair  and  gone  through  the  preliminary  exercises  with 
outward  calmness.  He  no  longer  doubted  the  truth  of 


MASONIC  BENEVOLENCE.  343 

the  warning  note.  Even  before  lie  caught  sight  of  a 
knife  concealed  under  the  coat  of  one  of  the  members 
he  knew  himself  to  be  surrounded  by  a  band  of  secret 
assassins,  and  felt  that  on  his  courage  and  tact  in  co- 
operating with  those  outside  his  life  depended. 

Colonel  Montfort,  as  before  hinted,  was  a  man  that 
preferred  to  do  his  dirty  work  by  means  of  tools.  He 
meant  to  keep  his  hand  concealed  throughout  this 
whole  affair.  It  was  therefore  no  part  of  his  scheme 
to  open  the  attack  011  Lovejoy  in  person,  but  to  put 
forward  Simon  Peck  instead,  as  the  mouth-piece  of  the 
lodge.  Peck  was  an  ignorant  and  illiterate  man,  and 
far  from  being  a  good  spokesman,  but  he  knew  that  the 
demand  to  resign  would  be  felt  by  Lovejoy  as  an  addi- 
tional insult,  coming  from  such  a  quarter.  Peck  was 
the  most  subservient  of  tools  under  his  master's  eye, 
and  in  the  present  case  some  personal  feeling,  mingling 
with  the  infuriated  hate  towards  Lovejoy  which  he 
shared  in  common  with  the  other  members  of  the 
lodge,  for  so  violating  his  Masonic  obligations  as  to 
arrest  a  murderer. 

Some  writer  has  said  that  everybody  is  well  connect- 
ed in  certain  directions.  So  also  is  the  opposite  fact 
true,  especially  among  the  heterogeneous  elements  that 
compose  American  society — for  Maurice  Jervish,  the 
personal  friend  of  Colonel  Montfort,  was  also  some 
connection  of  the  Pecks.  It  was  there  he  had  first 
seen  Mary  Lyman,  and  though  he  moved  in  a  so  much 
higher  social  sphere  than  they,  was  quite  willing  to 
take  all  the  advantage  which  his  relationship  to  the 
family  gave  him  in  accomplishing  the  ruin  of  his  vic- 
tim. Peck  had  badgered  his  wife  into  dem'ing  before 
the  coroner's  jury  all  knowledge  of  the  closed  carriage 


344  HOLDER   WITH   CORDS. 

that  had  been  seen  to  stop  at  their  door  the  night  Mary 
was  missing;  he  had  likewise  aided  in  secreting  Jervish 
— it  was  believed  on  his  premises,  which  the  sheriff, 
true  to  his  Masonic  obligations,  refused  to  search — all 
at  the  bidding  of  Colonel  Montfort,  who  found  in  Peck 
just  that  mixture  of  bigotry  and  self-conceit  which  is 
so  convenient  in  the  underlings  of  the  lodge  when  their 
superiors  wish  to  manipulate  them  for  purposes  of  their 
own.  - 

Lovejoy  listened  calmly  to  the  end  of  the  halting, 
ungrammatical  speech,  which  was  really  nothing  but  a 
low  tirade  of  abuse.  He  was  prepared  for  this  part  of 
the  programme.  Peck  sat  down  and  wiped  his  fore- 
head, rather  exhausted  with  his  effort  at  oratory,  but 
supremely  satisfied  therewith.  There  was  an  instant's 
silence,  during  which  Lovejoy's  eye  looked  with  eagle 
keenness  over  the  throng  of  conspirators  which  sur- 
rounded him  like  a  pack  of  hungry  wolves  thirsting  for 
his  blood;  and  then  he  answered  slowly  and  firmly: 

"  If  I  have  committed  any  offence  against  Masonic 
law  I  am  willing  to  meet  the  charge,  and  if  proved, 
submit  like  any  ordinary  member  to  the  sentence  of  the 
lodge.  1  am  denounced  as  a  traitor.  To  resign  the 
chair  under  these  circumstances  would  be  equivalent  to 
a  plea  of  guilty,  and  I  therefore  refuse  most  decidedly 
to  do  any  such  thing." 

This  reply  was  also  in  agreement  with  the  pro- 
gramme. There  was  a  murmur  of  rage  as  Lovejoy 
finished  speaking,  and  a  forward  movement  from  the 
member  who  carried  the  concealed  dirk. 

"  You  shall  resign,  you  blasted  traitor!"  he  exclaimed, 
with  an  oath.  "  Take  your  choice,  either  be  dragged 
from  the  chair  or  give  it  up  peaceably." 


MASONIC   BENEVOLENCE.  345 

"  I  will  neither  be  dragged  from  the  chair  nor  give 
it  up,  coolly  answered  Lovejoy,  who  knew  that  the  fatal 
moment  was  fast  approaching  when,  according  to  their 
pre-concerted  arrangement,  the  whole  band  of  ruffians 
would  be  on  him.  "  You  have  met  here  to  take  my 
life.  I  know  it,  and  others  know  it,  too.  A  guard  of 
the  .citizens  of  Grranby,  at  least  a  hundred  strong,  now 
surround  this  lodge,  prepared  to  rescue  me  from  your 
hands  should  you  attempt  violence.  I  have  only  to 
give  a  certain  signal  and  they  will  rush  in.  The  result 
may  be  a  worse  Antimasonic  excitement  than  the  one 
you  accuse  me  of  heading.  Now  take  your  choice; 
give  up  your  plan  to  assassinate  me,  or  carry  it  through 
and  take  the  consequences." 

The  lion's  mouth  was  fairly  shut,  for  the  most  infuri- 
ated Mason  present  did  not  care  to  provoke  the  popular 
vengeance  that  would  have  surely  followed  any  attack 
on  Lovejoy.  Colonel  Montfort,  under  his  concealing 
moustache,  fairly  ground  his  teeth  with  rage  at  this 
unlooked-for  miscarriage  of  his  deep  and  subtle  plot. 
He  had  rightly  calculated  that  with  every  member  of 
the  lodge  pledged  to  keep  Masonic  silence  over  the 
affair,  and  Masonic  sheriffs  and  juries  to  obstruct  the 
course  of  justice  in  every  possible  way,  there  would  not 
be  the  ten  thousandth  part  o*f  a  chance  that  the  actual 
perpetrators  of  the  deed  would  ever  be  discovered  or 
punished.  Nor  had  it  occurred  to  his  mind  that  Love- 
joy,  even  if  he  should  hear  of  the  plot  against  him, 
would  take  any  other  measure  of  self-defense  than  sim- 
ply to  stay  away 

"I  have  one  more  remark  to  make  on  this  subject," 
continued  Lovejoy,  looking  round  with  unflinching 
gaze  on  the  baffled  conspirators.  "  You  denounce  ine 


34:6  HOLDEN   WITH   CORDS. 

as  being  false  to  Masonry  because  in  the  discharge  of 
my  duties  as  a  citizen,  I  arrested  a  criminal  who  is  also 
a  Mason.  If  to  be  true  to  my  lodge  obligations  re- 
quires me  to  be  false  to  God  and  my  country,  then  I 
have  had  enough  of  the  system,  and  the  world  has  had 
far  too  much;  and  the  only  thing  that  I  or  any  other 
honest  man  can  do  in  such  a  case  is  to  quit  it.*' 

I  will  not  transcribe  the  volley  of  cursing  and  pro- 
fanity which  followed  this  speech  of  Lovejoy's.  It  was 
as  if  hell  had  broken  loose.  Colonel  Montfort,  who 
had  by  this  time  assured  himself  that  eager  ears  were 
really  straining  in  the  darkness  and  silence  below  to 
"catch  the  least  sound  of  tumult  or  uproar  in  the  lodge, 
was  alarmed. 

"The  brethren  forget  that  this  is  a  meeting  for  busi- 
ness,1' he  said,  with  cool  effrontery.  "  We  are  only 
wasting  time  by  this  useless  talk.  Our  Worshipful 
Master  charges  the  brethren  with  a  conspiracy  to  as- 
sassinate him.  I  on  my  part  charge  him  with  un-Ma- 
sonic  conduct  in  hiring  a  mob  of  cowans  and  eaves- 
droppers to  surround  the  lodge;  with  using  inflamma- 
tory language  designed  to  excite  the  public  mind 
against  the  order,  besides  many  other  violations  of  his 
obligations  and  duties  as  a  Mason.  I  therefore  move 
that  a  complaint  be  presented  to  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
the  State  against  Anson  Lovejoy,  Worshipful  Master 
of  Fidelity  Lodge,  No.  60.,  A.  F,  &  A.  M.,  petitioning 
for  his  expulsion  and  removal  from  office." 

Lovejoy  listened  with  calm  disdain.  To  a  man  who 
had  stood  but  the  moment  before  face  to  face  with 
death  this  was  but  the  firing  of  blank  cartridges.  The 
after  proceedings  were  unimportant,  and  after  an  *un- 


MASONIC  BEIOIYOLENCE.  347 

usually  brief  and  quiet  meeting  the  lodge  disbanded, 
fairly  checkmated  in  its  murderous  purpose. 

The  hushed  and  silent  crowd  kept  vigilant  watch  till 
Lovejoy  came  out;  then  greeted  him  with  enthusiastic 
cheers  that  could  be  heard  half  over  Grauby.  He  was 
the  hero  of  the  hour,  but  I  fancied  that  like  some  other 
heroes  he  felt  that  there  was  a  certain  thing  lacking  to 
his  triumph. 

"A  Christian  should  not  bear  malice,  Mr.  Lovejoy," 
I  said,  as  I  shook  his  hand.  Give  us  a  call  to-morrow 
and  allow  Mrs.  Severns  to  congratulate  you." 

Lovejoy  hesitated.  He  had  not  crossed  our  threshold 
since  the  day  Rachel  had  forbid  his  entrance;  and  I 
could  not  blame  him  if  he  entertained  some  rankling 
remembrance  of  her  harsh  and  bitter  words. 

"  If  you  think  I  shall  be  welcome — not  otherwise," 
he  answered. 

u  Try  it,"  I  said,  with  a  smile.  Lovejoy  hesitated  no 
longer. 

"  Thank  you,  Mr.  Severns,  I  will,  if  it  is  only  to 
prove  that  I  ;  bear  no  malice,'  as  you  call  it,  because 
your  good  wife  told  me  the  truth.  I  was  a  companion 
of  murderers  as  to-night's  events  have  made  me  realize. 
But  I  am  so  no  longer." 

The  next  day,  agreeably  to  his  promise,  he  came  over. 
Rachel  met  him  with  extended  hand  and  a  hearty, 
41  Forgive  me,  I  was  unjust;  but  I  have  found  out  my 
mistake." 

"  t  have  nothing  to  forgive,  Mrs.  Severns,"  was  his 
equally  sincere  and  hearty  answer.  "  The  medicine 
was  harsh,  but  I  am  no  worse  for  it." 

Verily, 

' '  A  curse  from  the  depths  of  womanhood 
Is  very  bitter  and  salt  and  good." 


CHAPTER  XXXVII. 

HISTORY     REPEATS     ITSELF. 

I  HE  community  ah  large  looked  upon  the 
speedy  conviction  of  Jervish  as  a  matter 
of  course,  and  when  the  time  arrived  for 
the  court  to  sit  on  the  case  the  public 
mind  had  quieted  down  from  its  state  of 
excitement  to  one  of  comparative  apathy. 
Against  such  overwhelming  evidence  what 
possible  chance  for  any  verdict  but  guilty? 

Anson  Lovejoy  thought  otherwise. 
"  The  lodge  is  bound  to  clear  Jervish,''  he  said  to  me 
one  day   when   the  subject  of  the  approaching  trial 
happened  to  be  mentioned.     "And  tliey  will  do  it"     - 
Even  I,  who  knew  so  well  what  Masonic  craft  and 
guile  is  capable  of  in  the  way  of  perverting  justice, 
was  surprised  at  the  posjtiveness  with  which  he  spoke. 
"  Impossible !"  I  said.     u  No  plainer  case  of  guilt  ever 
came  before  a  jury." 

u  That  may  be,"  answered  Lovejoy  with  a  little  touch 
of  satire,"  but  you  will  find  that  when  a  fourth  or  even 
less  of  the  jury  wear  Masonic  spectacles  to  assist  their 
understandings  the  plainest  cases  have  a  faculty  of 
growing  strangely  involved.  Colonel  Montfort  and 
the  other  members  of  the  lodge  have  a  personal  stake 
in  this  affair  quite  outside  of  any  particular  interest 


HISTORY  REPEATS  ITSELF.  349 

they  may  feel  in  Jervish.  It  is  a  kind  of  a  test  ques- 
tion. They  want  to  prove  to  the  world  and  to  them- 
selves that  Masonry  is  strong  enough  to  spread  its  pro- 
tecting wing  over  the  vilest  criminal  and  then  defy  the 
hand  of  the  law  to  reach  him.  My  word  for  it,  Sheriff 
Simonds  will  fill  out  the  jnry  with  Masons  and  Odd- 
fellows to  a  man;  with  possibly  one  who  is  neither 
Mason  nor  Odd-fellow,  but  whose  sympathies  or  con- 
nections are  all  with  the  lodge,  put  in  simply  for  a 
blinder  to  the  public — nothing  more.'" 

I  started,  for  this  was  the  same  dodge  that  had  been 
played  so  often  and  so  successfully  in  the  Morgan 
trials  forty  years  before.  What  should  hinder  its  work- 
ing equally  well  in  the  present  instance? 

The  wide-spread  notoriety  of  the  case  attracted  an 
unusually  large  number  to  hear  the  trial,  and  each  day 
of  the  proceedings  a  crowded  court  room  attested  to 
the  interest  it  had  excited.  The  witness  against 
Maurice  Jervish  was  clear  and  conclusive;  the  testimo- 
ny in  his  favor  slight  and  open  to  serious  doubt  from 
the  character  of  the  witnesses  or  the  suspicion  that 
lodge  influence  had  been  at  work,  especially  with  Mrs. 
Peck,  who  swore  positively  to  having  no  knowledge 
where  Mary  Lyman  went  on  the  night  she  left  the 
house,  or  in  whose  company;  but  was  believed  by  every 
candid  person  to  have  perjured  herself  under  terror  in- 
spired by  her  husband,  who  knew  very  well  how  to  use 
the  peculiar  arguments  of  the  lodge  with  most  impres- 
sive effect  on  his  weak-minded  partner. 

Lovejoy's  prophecy  had  proved  true  to  the  letter  in 
relation  to  Sheriff  Simonds,  who  filled  out  the  jury 
with  four  Masons  and  one  Odd-fellow,  together  with  a 
sixth  who  was  neither  a  Mason  nor  an  Odd-fellow,  but 
a  warm  personal  friend  of  the  prisoner!  And  so  the 
case  proceeded — a  great  deal  of  tedious  quibbling  and 


350  HOLDER  WITH   CORDS. 

impudent  brow-beating  of  witnesses  from  the  Masonic 
lawyer  who  was  counsel  for  the  accused,  and  did  his 
best,  though  signally  failing  in  the  attempt — for  there 
are  some  things  beyond  even  the  power  of  False- 
hood— to  represent  the  whole  affair  as  a  malicious  per- 
secution of  his  client.  And  then,  the  evidence  all  be- 
ing in,  the  departure  of  the  jury  to  render  their  de- 
cision— guilty  or  not  guilty. 

I  remember  with  what  hushed  expectancy  we  waited 
for  the  verdict;  how  in  the  stillness  of  the  court  room 
the  jury's  returning  footsteps  after  their  brief  absence 
sounded  painfully  loud.  And  I  remember,  too,  the 
half-stunned^  half- sick  feeling  that  came  over  me.  as  if 
I  saw  Justice  stabbed  to  the  heart  and  was  forced  to 
stand  by  when  the  death-blow  was  struck  as  the  fore- 
man pronounced  their  decision — 

"NoT  GUILTY!" 

The  lodge  had  triumphed.  Mary  Lyman's  murderer 
was  free. 

Astounded,  indignant,  almost  questioning  whether 
my  ears  had  heard  aright,  I  listened  to  the  giving  of 
the  verdict,  which  was  followed  by  loud  applause  from 
Colonel  Montfort's  adherents,  who  closed  around  Jer- 
vish  and  bore  him  away  like  a  conquering  hero.  It 
was  the  same  scene  with  which  the  court  rooms  of 
western  New  York  grew  so  familiar  in  1826  and  the 
four  years  succeeding.  It  was  history  repeated,  a  Ma- 
sonic jury  setting  aside  the  plainest  evidence  for  testi- 
mony that  bore  the  stamp  of  perjury  on  its  very  face; 
law  helpless  under  the  heel  of  the  lodge,  and  the  same 
exultant  rallying  around  the  murderer. 

Eachel  was  silent  for  a  moment  after  I  told  her  the 
result  of  the  trial;  then  slie  bowed  her  head  on  her 
clasped  hands  with  a  sound  that  was  half  a  groan,  half 
a  sob. 


HISTORY  EEPEATS  ITSELF.  351 

"  Mother!"  I  said,  gently. 

"  I  can't  help  it,"  she  answered.  "  Shall  secret  in- 
iquity triumph  forever?  I  feel  as  if  I  could  call  upon 
God  as  the  prophet  did  to  rend  the  heavens  and  come 
down." 

"But  there  is  a  day  of  reckoning  coming,  you  forget- 
that.  mother.1' 

"No, I  don't  forget  it,  but  it  seems  such  a  great  way 
off.  What  my  heart  cries  out  for  is  justice  now.  It 
will  be  a  satisfaction  to  the  universe  no  doubt  when 
this  wretch  gets  his  deserts  at  the  Day  of  Judgment, 
though  it  be  a  million  years  hence,  but  thinking  of 
that  will  never  reconcile  me  to  his  going  free  of  pun- 
ishment here.  His  acquittal  is  a  standing  menace  to 
the  peace  and  virtue  of  every  home.  If  the  lodge  can 
defy  law  at  one  time  and  in  one  place  it  can  at  other 
times  and  in  other  places — and  what  is  more,  it  will." 

u  Well,"  said  Anson  Lovejoy,  who  had  come  in  to 
talk  over  the  result  of  the  trial, "  Colonel  Montfort  and 
his  party  triumph  openly  and  shamelessly  in  the  fact 
that  they  have  cleared  Jervish.  At  this  very  moment 
some  of  the  jury  are  over  at  the  tavern  having  a  grand 
drinking  fuddle  in  honor  of  their  victory.  Colonel 
Montfort,  1  understand,  is  preparing  a  garbled  report 
of  the  affair  for  a  Chicago  daily,  in  which  he  will  repre- 
sent Jervish  as  a  cruelly  attacked  victim  of  a  malicious 
Antimasonic  persecution,  winding  up  with  a  glowing 
account  of  his  triumphant  vindication  before  the  jury. 
I  am  rather  glad  he  is  going  to  do  so  for  it  will  give  me 
a  chance  to  reply.  The  real  facts  of  the  case  should  be 
placed  before  the  people  and  signed  by  competent  wit- 
nesses, so  that  every  honest  man  and  woman  who  reads 
it  shall  be  convinced  on  which  side  the  truth  lies." 

u  That  is  a  good  idea  if  you  can  get  sucji  an  article 
inserted,"  I  answered,  with  a  vivid  remembrance  of  the 


362  HOLDEK  WITH  CORDS. 

times  now  grown  so  distant  and  shadowy,  when  from 
one  end  of  the  land  to  the  other  scarce  a  paper  dared 
to  print  an  account  of  Morgan's  abduction;  when, deaf 
alike  to  the  appeals  of  outraged  humanity  and  violated 
law,  editors  almost  everywhere  resolutely  closed  their 
columns  to  the  whole  subject,  presenting  that  saddest 
of  spectacles  in  a  hind  of  freedom — an  enslaved  press. 

u  Oh!  I  think  there  will  be  no  difficulty  about  that," 
returned  Lovejoy.  "After  publishing  one  side  of  the 
affair  they,  couldn't  for  decency's  sake  refuse  to  publish 
the  other." 

"  How  is  your  trial  before  the  Grand  Lodge  coming 
out?"  I  inquired. 

"  I  hardly  know  yet,  I  sent  my  defence  in  writing, 
for  I  could  not  spare  the  money  to  go  in  person,  and 
besides  I  have  ceased  to  consider  myself  as  being  under 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  lodge.  They  appointed  a  com- 
mittee of  three  to  investigate  the  charges  against  me 
and  report  to  the  Grand  Master.  As  this  committee 
was  composed  of  an  ex- Governor  and  two  ministers  I 
naturally  supposed  that  1  should  receive  gentlemanly 
treatment  from  their  hands — at  least  courtesy  and  com- 
mon fairness.  But  this  was  not  the  case.  They  refused 
to  hear  any  testimony  but  that  of  my  accusers,  and 
conducted  the  investigation,  which  was  the  merest 
farce  from  beginning  to  end,  more  in  the  spirit  of  ex- 
amining members  of  the  Inquisition  than  anything 
else.  I  presume  they  reported  adversely;  I  neither 
know  nor  care.  Nor  shall  I  wait  for  the  decision  of 
the  Grand  Master;  I  have  already  sent  in  my  renuncia- 
tion and  my  reasons  for  doing  so  which  are  substan- 
tially these — '  I  find  that  every  Mason  is  under  obliga- 
tion to  conceal  a  brother  Mason's  crime;  that  the 
greater  the  orime  the  stronger  the  obligation  to  conceal 
it;  that  the  lodge  has  the  power  of  life  and  death  over 


HISTORY  EEPEATS  ITSELF.  353 

its  members;  and  that  if  any  member  knows  of  his  in- 
tended assassination  he  has  no  right  to  use  any  other 
means  of  safety  than  his  own  physical  force  or  keeping 
out  of  the  way.' r 

Lovejoy  spoke  with  slow,  solemn  emphasis.  He  had 
learned  at  last  the  lesson  that  Mark  and  I  learned  two 
score  years  before  from  a  page  stained  with  martyr's 
blood  and  blotted  with  the  tears  of  the  widow.  The 
iron  had  entered  into  his  soul. 

Elder  Stedman  had  already  delivered  one  or  two 
Antimasonic  lectures  without  encountering  any  very 
serious  opposition.  Another  was  advertised  to  be 
given  in  the  Quipaw  Creek  school  house  on  Thursday 
evening  of  this  same  week. 

The  party  at  the  tavern  had  a  chance  to  see  the  no- 
tice, which  was  put  up  in  a  conspicuous  corner  of  the 
public  room,  and  make  their  own  peculiar  comments 
thereon.  But  remembering  that  my  reader's  ears  are 
unaccustomed  to  vulgarity  and  profaneness,  I  shall 
only  transcribe  that  part  of  their  talk  which  is  of  im- 
mediate interest  in  view  of  the  events  that  are  to  follow. 

Colonel  Montfort  himself  was  pledged  to  settle  the 
score,  and  under  the  pleasant  stimulus  of  this  recollec- 
tion there  was  a  general  drinking  to  the  health  of  the 
gallant  Colonel. 

"Come boys, now  for  a  rouser,"  s#id  the  leader,  as  he 
again  filled  up  his  glass.  u  Here's  to  Maurice  Jervish, 
the  brave  and  innocent." 

The  toast  was  responded  to  with  drunken  enthusiasm 
and  in  nauseating  triumph  every  glass  was  drained. 

Reader,  when  the  lodge  has  reached  what  it  takes  a 
good  deal  of  pains  to  inform  us  through  its  orators  on 
St.  John's  day  and  other  appropriate  occasions,  is  its 
ultimate  aim  and  object;  when  it  rules  the  whole  of  our 
beloved  country  from  New  England  to  the  Sierras; 


354  HOLDEN  WITH  CORDS. 

when  it  elects  all  our  public  officers  from  President  and 
Governor  downwards;  when  it  pulls  the  wires  at  every 
political  convention  and  caucus  and  controls  every 
town  meeting;  in  those  palmy  days  a  man  may  do  that 
which  is  right  in  his  own  eyes;  he  may  seduce,  mur- 
der, rob,  cheat,  commit  all  the  crimes  in  the  decalogue, 
only  provided  that  he  has  first  had  the  foresight  to 
learn  a  few  Masonic  signs  and  grips,  and  has  likewise 
had  the  discrimination  to  select  his  victims  entirely 
from  the  ranks  of  cowans  and  outsiders.  A  possibility 
that  by  that  time  so  many  will  join  the  lodge  from 
motives  of  self-protection  as  to  seriously  limit  the  field 
of  operations  would  seem  at  first  a  slight  obstacle  in 
the  way  of  this  cheerful  prospect.  But  all  the  diffi- 
culty rises  from  a  superficial  view  of  the  subject. 
There  will  always  be  the  cowan  in  the  land;  men  too 
poor  or  too  shiftless  to  pay  the  lodge  dues;  men  too 
independent  to  surrender  their  liberty  to  a  secret  des- 
potism; humble  followers  of  the  Lord  who  refuse  to 
bow  to  anti-Christ;  besides  cripples  and  minors,  to  say 
nothing  of  the  whole  female  sex  barred  out  by  circum- 
stance or  accident  from  the  tender  charities  of  the  lodge. 

Now,  as  the  above  mentioned  classes,  taken  together, 
form,  at  a  moderate  estimate,  considerably  more  than 
two-thirds  of  the  world's  population  it  will  be  readily 
seen  that  the  time  is  not  likely  ever  to  arrive  when 
Masonry  shall  be  restricted  in  its  operations  by  too 
narrow  a  field  outside. 

But  we  Avill  leave  dipping  into  the  future  and  go 
back  to  the  party  gathered  at  the  tavern  who  had  been 
drinking  just  freely  enough  to  be  primed  for  rowdyism. 

"  I  say,  let's  go  over  to  Quipaw  to-night  and  shut  the 
mouth  of  that  confounded  Methodist  parson,"  proposed 
one.  "  The  old  rascal  needs  a  lesson.  Why  don't  he 
stick  to  his  business  and  let  other  things  alone?" 


HISTORY  REPEATS   ITSELF.  355 

"  That's  so,"  was  the  ready  response  of  another. 
uHe  ought  to  be  treated  to  a  coat  of  tar  and  feathers, 
ranting  up  and  down  the  country,  making  trouble  in 
the  family  and  setting  wives  against  their  husbands. 
Now  my  wife  hates  Masonry  like  the  devil,  and  ever 
since  she  heard  that  confounded  fellow  lecture  she's 
been  worse  about  it.  Now  I  say  that  Masonry  ain't  a 
part  of  a  preacher's  business.  He  ought  to  stick  to  the 
Gospel.  That's  what  ministers  are  for." 

It  is  astonishing,  reader,  the  unanimity  of  opinion 
that  sometimes  exists  between  two  very  opposite  classes 
of  men.  The  drunken  rowdy  who  gave  utterance  to 
the  above  edifying  sentiments  was  of  exactly  the  same 
mind  with  the  Rev.  Dr.  Easy,  who  was  at  that  very 
moment  expressing  to  one  of  the  deacons  of  his  church 
his  sorrow  that  Bro.  Stedman  should  leave  his  legiti- 
mate business  of  saving  souls  to  attack  such  a  respecta- 
ble institution  as  Freemasonry,  with  which  so  many 
worthy  men  were  connected. 

Meanwhile  the  Elder  was  lifting  up  his  heart  in 
prayer  for  strength  to  stand  firm  against  the  enemies 
of  the  truth;  for  a  spirit  of  meekness  and  charity 
towards  all  who  should  oppose;  for  the  presence  of 
Jesus  Christ  to  go  with  him  in  might  and  power,  di- 
recting the  battle  to  a  glorious  victory  over  the  hosts 
of  Baal  for  the  honor  of  his  precious  name  and  the 
hastening  of  his  day  of  Millennial  triumph. 

The  Elder  rose  from  his  knees  and  walked  to  the 
place  appointed,  calm  as  the  summer  sunset.  He  would 
have  been  calm  if  he  had  known  that  he  was  to  en- 
counter a  raging  mob  ready  to  tear  him  in  pieces.  Into 
that  eternal  fortress  where  the  righteous  run  and  are 
safe,  his  soul  had  entered.  Girded  from  Jehovah's 
celestial  armory,  with  the  sword  of  truth  in  his  hand 
that  forty  years  of  constant  warfare  had  only  whetted  to 


356  HOLDER  WITH  CORDS. 

a  keen  edge,  why  should  he  fear  the  face  of  mortal  man? 

He  began  his  lecture,  which  was  on  the  relation  of 
the  Christian  religion  to  Masonry,  in  comparative 
quiet.  It  was  a  rather  miscellaneous  audience;  a  few 
earnest,  intelligent  men  and  women  met  to  learn  what 
they  could  about  a  system  which  pretends  to  hold  in 
its  keeping  ineffable  secrets  impossible  to  be  discovered 
by  profane  gaze,  yet  with  carious  inconsistency  binds 
all  its  members  under  awful  oaths  never  to  reveal  the 
unrevealable!  A  few  drawn  by  curiosity;  and  a  con- 
siderable number,  among  whom  was  the  party  from 
the  tavern,  whose  only  design  in  coming  was  to  disturb 
the  meeting  and  mob  the  lecturer. 

In  the  course  of  his  argument  he  first  described  in  a 
few  brief,  fitting  words,  the  nature  and  essence  of  true 
religion,  on  which  followed  naturally  a  counter  de- 
scription of  Masonry.  Here  the  Elder  began  to  tread 
on  dangerous  ground.  So  long  as  he  kept  to  generali- 
ties they  could  afford  to  listen  with  tolerable  equanimity. 
They  could  even  bear  to  be  told  that  the  lodge  was  an 
emanation  from  the  smoke  of  the  bottomless  pit;  a 
low,  cunning  caricature  of  Christianity,  a  revival  of 
the  worship  of  Baal  and  Tammuz,  and  every  other 
heathen  deity  mentioned  in  Scripture.  But  when  in 
order  to  prove  these  statements  he  began  a  rapid  review 
of  the  lodge  ceremonies,  the  stripping,  the  hoodwink, 
the  cable-tow,  and  the  mock  killing  and  raising  to  life 
again  of  the  widow's  son,  they  felt  that  it  was  high 
time  to  rally  to  the  support  of  the  ancient  and  venera- 
ble handmaid  thus  ruthlessly  despoiled  of  all  that  bor- 
rowed attire  in  which  her  heart  delighted. 

"You  are  perjured!''  shouted  a  voice  in  the  audience. 

kt  In  what  way?"  mildly  inquired  the  Elder. 

The  man  was  about  to  answer,  u  By  telling  our  se- 
crets," but  the  liquor  he  had  drank  had  not  so  far 


HISTORY   REPEATS  ITSELF.  357 

muddled  his  brains  that  he  did  not  bethink  himself  in 
time,  and  as  he  had  not  taken  the  precaution  to  ufill  his 
mouth  with  arguments"  beforehand,  having  filled  his 
pockets  instead  with  another  kind  of  argument  very 
much  in  vogue  with  the  opponents  of  unpopular  re- 
form, he  contented  himself  with  simply  reiterating, 
ll  You  are  perjured,"  and  sat  down. 

The  Elder,  however,  was  armed  cap-a-pie  against  all 
such  attacks. 

"I  am  perjured,  then,  because  I  tell  the  truth  about 
Masonry.  If  I  was  telling  falsehoods  it  wouldn't  be 
perjury.  Now,"  added  the  Elder,  turning  to  his  audi- 
ence, uthis  man  who  has  just  interrupted  me  is  sworn 
'ever  to  conceal  and  never  reveal '  the  secrets  of  the 
order;  but  he  has  just  revealed  them  by  the  very  act 
of  applying  to  me  such  a  term.  Which  of  us,  then,  is 
perjured?  I  speak  as  to  wise  men.  Judge  ye." 

But  at  this  point  the  speaker's  voice  was  drowned  in 
a  storm  of  hissings,  hootings,  stampings  and  yellings, 
while  showers  of  rotten  eggs  bespattered  him  liberally 
from  head  to  foot.  The  wild  elements  were  let  loose. 
Raging  waves  of  the  sea,  foaming  out  their  own  shame, 
is  no  wrapt  description  of  the  scene  that  followed. 

The  Elder,  after  a  vain  attempt  to  continue  speak- 
ing, dismissed  the  audience  as  well  as  he  could,  and  the 
respectable  part  dispersed.  He  himself  remained  be- 
hind to  gather  up  his  books.  This  gave  time  for  a 
crowd  of  infuriated  Masons  to  close  about  the  platform, 
and  surround  him  like  a  cordon  of  wild  beasts,  with 
cries  of  u  Bring  a  rail,  egg  him,  feather  him,  shoot 
him."  But  their  most  outrageous  demonstrations  of 
insult  and  violence  did  not  cause  a  ripple  in  that 
heavenly  calm  which  pervaded  the  Elder's  soul. 

To  long  to  suffer  for  the  truth's  sake  is  in  some  souls 
almost  a  natural  instinct.  It  was  so  with  Mark  Sted- 


358  HOLDER  WITH  CORDS. 

man.  He  was  born  with  those  qualities  that  make  a 
martyr — dauntless  courage  and  intense  loyalty  to  his 
convictions.  And  if  we  add  to  this  the  fact  of  all 
those  long  years  of  service  for  his  Master,  deadening 
every  ease-loving,  self-interested  fibre  in  his  nature; 
but  quickening  in  the  same  ratio  every  heavenly  im- 
pulse of  his  soul,  till  the  ordinary  motives  that  sway 
men  had  scarcely  more  influence  over  him  than  if  he 
had  been  a  glorified  spirit,  it  will  be  readily  seen  that 
if  their  object  was  to  frighten  the  Elder,  he  was  about 
the  worst  possible  subject  they  could  have  selected  for 
such  an  experiment. 

"  My  friends,"  he  said,  mildly,  "you  see  that  I  am 
powerless;  you  can  do  with  me  what  you  choose.  You 
can  take  my  life,  but  God  rules  in  Heaven,  and  the 
truth  will  triumph  all  the  same — perhaps  quicker.  My 
soul  is  in  his  keeping;  you  cannot  harm  the  truth,  and 
you  cannot  harm  me." 

The  mob  was  silent  for  an  instant,  overawed  by  the 
meek  daring  of  this  servant  of  God;  then  their  rage 
broke  out  anew  in  redoubled  yells  and  fresh  threats  of 
violence.  Suddenly  a  man  among  the  crowd  whose 
features  were  partly  concealed  by  a  hat  that  he  wore, 
either  by  accident  or  design,  pretty  well  over  bis  eyes, 
leaped  on  the  platform,  and  with  one  quick  movement 
extinguished  the  lights.  The  same  friendly  hand  seized 
on  the  Elder,  who,  by  the  diversion  thus  made,  and 
with  the  aid  of  his  unknown  helper,  managed  in  the 
darkness  and  confusion  to  make  his  escape. 

It  was  Anson  Lovejoy,  who  had  seen  the  notice  and 
made  up  his  mind  to  attend  the  lecture,  half  surmising 
that  there  might  be  trouble.  By  mingling-  with  the 
mob  as  if  one  of  them,  he  had  executed  his  bold 
maneuvre,  and  the  Elder  went  home  unharmed  in  per- 
son and  not  a  whit  discouraged  in  soul. 


filSTORY  REPEATS   ITSELF.  359 

"  The  wrath  of  man  shall  praise  him,  and  the  re- 
mainder he  will  restrain,"  said  Mark,  in  talking  over 
the  affair  a  few  days  after.  a  Outrage  and  violence 
never  really  hinder  the  progress  of  the  truth.  I  believe 
more  Antimasons  were  made  by  that  lecture  than  by 
the  two  others  that  passed  off  quietly.'1 

"And  it  would  make  still  more,''  said  Lovejoy,  uif 
the  press  were  not  so  completely  dominated  by  Masonic 
influence  that  the  most  daring  attempt  to  suppress  free 
speech  passes  unnoticed.  That  Chicago  Journal  has 
actually  refused  to  publish  the  contradiction  to  Colonel 
Montfort's  article,  though  signed  by  candid,  intelligent 
men  who  were  on  the  coroner's  jury  and  knew  all  the 
facts  of  the  case." 

"  Well,"  said  I,  u  editors  and  ministers  are,  of  all 
men,  most  timid  about  touching  anything  that  savors 
of  reform.  The  lodge  has  pretty  much  the  same  argu- 
ment for  both.  Editors  don't  want  to  displease  their 
Masonic  patrons  and  lose  thereby  a  part  of  their  bread 
and  butter.  Ministers  don't  want  to  preach  an  unpop- 
ular reform  and  so  run*  the  risk  of  losing  a  slice  off 
their  salaries.  And  considering  what  a  poor,  weak  con- 
cern human  nature  is,  even  at  its  best  estate,  I  can't 
say  I  much  wonder  at  it." 

*k  Do  you  know  that  a  professed  minister  of  the  Gos- 
pel was  foremost  in  the  riotous  demonstrations  the  other 
night?"  said  Lovejoy.  "I  tell  you  while  ministers 
and  church  members  support  Masonry,  the  system  will 
stand.  And  furthermore,  so  long  as  ministers  and 
church  members  who  are  not  Masons  'think  it  is  a 
good  institution,  so  long  as  they  will  excuse  and  defend 
it,  so  long  it  will  be  impossible  to  overthrow  it." 

"  I  have  been  thinking  of  bringing  up  the  subject 
before  our  next  Quarterly  Conference,"  said  the  Elder. 
u  If  the  church  is  ever  to  cast  this  viper  out  of  her 
bosom  it  must  be  through  agitation  from  within.  If 
reform  does  not  begin  at  the  house  of  God,  judgment 
surely  will." 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 

UNDER  THE  JUNIPER  TREE. 

is  a  .certain  exaltation  of  spirit 
which  overcomes  the  weakness  of  the 
flesh  when  we  engage  in  a  stern  wrestle 
with  any  kind  of  moral  evil.  Hence  it 
is  that  reformers  in  every  age  have  gone 
through  life  with  the  step^of  laurelled  vic- 
tors moving  to  the  souml  of  triumphal 
psalms.  Yet  God  has  so  constituted  the  human 
soul  that  it  cannot  always  keep  stretched  to 
this  heroic  tension.  The  Elijahs  who  climbed  the 
nearest  heaven  on  those  heights  of  sublime  daring  for 
truth's  sake  generally  find  their  juniper  tree  some- 
where in  the  way. 

Mark  Stedman  had  encountered  threats,  obloquy, 
persecution,  with  unfaltering  heart.  He  expected 
nothing  else.  He  was  renewing  the  battle  at  double 
odds,  for  while  the  murderous  spirit  of  Masonry  re- 
mained unchanged,  as  evidenced  by  the  attempted  at- 
tack on  Lovejoy,  there  was  not  now,  as  in  the  Morgan 
days,  an  awakening  public  sentiment  to  back  up  its 
opposers.  To  rouse  that  slumbering  public  sentiment, 
to  lift  up  his  voice  like  a  trumpet  and  show  the  house 
of  Judah  their  sin  he  conceived  to  be  one  of  his  peculiar 
duties  as  a  sentinel  of  Zion;  and  he  made  no  account 
of  possible  difficulties  in  convincing  of  her  guilt  a 
lukewarm  church  that  had  forsaken  her  first  love. 


UNDER  THE   JUNIPER  TREE.  361 

"  Really,  brother  Stedman."  said  the  first  of  his 
brother  ministers  in  the  conference  to  whom  Mark  ad- 
dressed himself,  "I  gave  you  credit  for  being  a  man  of 
more  sense  than  to  run  a  tilt  against  Masonry  at  your 
age.  You  might  as  well  try  to  throw  Gibraltar  into 
the  sea." 

"Amen,"  returned  the  Elder,  while  his  dark  eye 
kindled  and  his  thin  face  flushed.  *4  Every  false  wor- 
ship has  been  called  impregnable.  But  the  God  I 
serve  is  a  God  of  the  hills  as  well  as  a  God  of  the  val- 
leys; and  moreover  I  have  Christ's  promise,  4*If  ye 
have  faith  as  a  grain  of  mustard  seed,  ye  shall  say  unto 
this  mountain,  be  thou  removed  and  be  thou  cast  into 
the  sea,  and  it  shall  be  done/'1 

u  These  are  not  the  days  of  miracles,"  returned  the 
other,  rather  curtly.  "  And  to  tell  the  truth  I  don't 
think  it  is  Christian  charity  to  indulge  in  such  whole- 
sale denunciations  of  Masonry  when  four-fifths  of  the 
ministers  in  our  conference  belong  i?o  the  lodge." 

u  Counting  yourself,  I  see,"  dryly  answered  Msirk, 
who  had  just  caught  sight  of  a  Masonic  pin  gleaming 
under  the  coat  o£  his  charitably-disposed  clerical 
brother. 

The  latter  looked  a  trifle  embarrassed,  not  to  say 
ashamed,  at  the  discovery. 

u  You  see  I  don't  wear  it  out  in.  open  sight.  If  I  was 
all  wrapped  up  in  the  institution  like  Elder  Chadband, 
I  should.  I  joined  the  lodge  a  few  years  ago  because  I 
thought  it  might  increase  iny  influence  as  a  pastor. 
You  know  St.  Paul  became  all  things  to  all  men  that 
he  might  save  a  few." 

Mark  rose  to  his  feet,  stern  and  solemn. 

u  I  have  one  question  to  ask:  Was  it  to  save  men  or 
to  gain  more  hearers,  and,  as  a  consequence,  more  pop- 
ularity and  more  money  that  you  joined  an  order 


362  HOLDER  WITH  CORDS. 

whose  badge  you  are  ashamed  to  wear  openly?  You 
need  not  answer  it  to  me.  Answer  it  to  God  and  your 
own  soul.'' 

And  having  launched  this  keen  arrow  of  truth  Mark 
went  his  way  with  an  inward  prayer  for  this  self-de- 
ceived shepherd  of  the  flock,  who  after  all  was  not  so 
blameworthy  as  his  elders  in  the  ministry  who  had 
lured  him  by  their  example  into  such  a  path  of 
hypocrisy  and  time  serving. 

Eider  Chadband  was  an  altogether  different  subject 
to  deal  with.  Far  from  being  ashamed  of  Masonry  he 
gloried  in  the  many  degrees  he  had  taken,  and  sounded 
the  praises  of  the  handmaid  at  every  funeral  and  cor- 
ner-stone laying  at  which  the  fraternity  figured,  far 
and  near. 

He  saw  with  alarm  the  serious  trouble  that  Mark's 
fanatical  views  were  likely  to  make  in  the  conference, 
and  he  felt  warranted  in  using  almost  any  measure  that 
might  rid  that  body  of  his  undesirable  presence.  But 
he  believed  in  trying  a  little  diplomacy  first,  and  to 
this  end  he  sought  an  interview  with  Mark,  who,  on 
his  part,  had  rather  avoided  any  discussions  with  the 
Elder,  considering  him  as  being  too  much  in  the  situa- 
tion of  the  Scriptural  Ephraim  to  warrant  the  hope 
that  any  good  might  arise  therefrom.  He  was  there- 
fore proportionately  surprised  when  the  Elder  thus 
urbanely  began  the  conversation: 

u  While  I  am  sorry  that  }rou  feel  it  your  duty  to  op- 
pose such  an  excellent  thing  as  Freemasonry,  my  dear 
brother  Stedman,  a  system  that  in  its  leading  points  is 
drawn  from  revelation  and  teaches  in  such  an  admira- 
ble manner  so  many  important  moral  truths,  I  must 
say  that  your  sincerity  and  earnestness,  however  misdi- 
rected, is  above  praise.  And  I  wish  that  there  was 
more  of  that  spirit  in  the  church.  We  need  a  fresh 


UNDER  THE   JUNIPER  TREE.  363 

baptism  of  the  old-time  zeal.  There  is  too  little  of  it 
— altogether  too  little  of  it  now-a-days.1'  And  the 
Elder  sighed  as  if  deeply  impressed  with  the  melan- 
choly truth  just  uttered. 

Mark  opened  his  eyes.  What  did  it  mean?  Was 
Saul  also  among  the  prophets? 

"  Now,  I  believe  in  the  largest  Christian  liberty,1' 
continued  the  Elder,  not  waiting  for  an  answer,  "  and 
no  doubt  one  important  use  of  having  so  many  differ- 
ent sects  is  to  make  that  liberty  possible.  I  have  been 
seriously  thinking,  my  dear  brother  Stedman,  that  in 
some  other  church  holding  similar  views  on  the  subject 
of  Masonry,  you  could  preach  those  views  without 
offense,  and  thus  labor  with  more  freedom  and  a  greater 
prospect  of  usefulness.  Of  course  we  should  be  sorry 
to  lose  one  of  our  most  valuable  preachers;  but  our  loss 
would  be  the  gain  of  some  other  denomination,  such 
as  the  United  Brethren,  for  instance.  We  will  give 
you  letters  of  recommendation  to  that  or  any  church 
you  may  prefer." 

Mark's  eye  flashed.  He  had  been  unsuspicious,  hith- 
erto; now  he  saw  through  the  whole  thing.  Elder 
Chadband  had  been  playing  to  perfection  the  part  of 
a  boa  constrictor,,  which  slimes  its  victim  over  before 
swallowing  it,  and  I  am  afraid  that  Mark's  reply  to  his 
proposal  had  less  than  the  usual  savor  of  Gospel  meek- 
ness. 

u  Is  this  Christian  liberty — to  be  able  to  declare  the 
whole  counsel  of  God,  not  freely  in  any  part  of  the 
church  universal,  but  only  in  a  few  sectarian  by-ways 
and  corners?  No.  Elder  Chadband,  while  1  have 
Christian  fellowship  with  all  who  walk  in  the  truth,  by 
whatever  name  they  are  called,  the  church  of  the 
Wesleys  is  the  church  of  my  adoption.  It  was  there 
my  first  vows  were  paid,  and  until  she  casts  me  out  of 
her  communion  I  will  join  no  other." 


364:  HOLDER  WITH   CORDS. 

This  outburst  rather  startled  Elder  Chadband.  He 
had  hoped  for  a  different  result,  not  calculating  that 
there  was  still  some  unquenched  fire  under  Mark's 
meek  countenance  and  threadbare  coat. 

u  Really,  brother  Stedman  " — and  there  was  a  decided 
dropping  of  the  Elder's  urbane  tone — "  I  am  grieved 
that  you  should  take  a  mere  kindly  hint  in  such  a 
spirit.  We  are  commanded  to  separate  ourselves  from 
such  as  cause  schism  and  offense,  and  to  tell  you  the 
truth,  many  in  our  conference  consider  you  liable  to 
that  charge.  So  in  the  truest  spirit  of  brotherly  love 
I  have  pointed  out  to  you  a  course  that  will  prevent  all 
necessity  for  such  a  painful  and  disagreeable  step." 

"  It  seems,  then,  tha't  you  are  willing  to  recommend 
me  to  some  unsuspecting  church  as  ;  a  brother  beloved 
for  his  work's  sake,  while  all  the  while  I  am  lying  un- 
der a  grievous  charge  of  '  causing  schism  and  offense.' 
You  would  have  me  act  a  lie  by  representing  that  I 
seek  another  church  from  personal  preference,  when  i 
do  it  to  avoid  the  'painful  and  disagreeable'  notoriety 
of  being  forcibly  ejected  by  the  one  I  go  from.  Is  this 
Christian  charity  or  lodge  dissimulation?  If  truth, 
faithfully  preached,  causes  schism  in  any  church,  the 
worse  for  that  church.  Elder  Chadband,  in  the  day  of 
Christ's  appearing,  how  will  you  answer  before  him  for 
your  connection  with  a  system  that  points  out  to  man 
another  way  of  salvation  than  through  his  atoning 
cross?  How  will  you  bear  to  stand  at  his  judgment 
bar  with  the  blood  of  souls  clinging  to  your  skirts  that 
the  lodge  has  deluded  and  destroyed?  Woe  unto  you 
Masonic  pastors,  for  ye  shut  up  the  kingdom  of  heaven 
against  men.  Ye  neither  go  in  yourselves,  and  them 
that  are  entering  in  ye  hinder." 

And  having  thus  delivered  his  righteously  indignant 
soul,  Mark  left  Elder  Chadband  in  a  more  disturbed 


UNDER   THE  JUNIPER  TREE.  365 

state  of  mind  than  Masonic  philosophy  would  seem  to 
warrant,  and  more  than  ever  confirmed  in  his  opinion 
that  brother  Stedman  was  a  dangerous  man  to  remain 
in  the  ranks  of  the  Methodist  ministry. 

Now  Elder  Cushing's  church  in  Brownsville,  Avas 
Baptist,  and  though,  as  Mark  truly  said,  the  church 
of  the  Wesley s  was  the  church  of  his  adoption,  he 
always  felt  in  the  hidden  depths  of  his  soul  a  yearning 
impulse  of  affection  towards  that  particular  chamber  in 
Zioii  where  he  had  been  cradled.  So  when  a  certain 
Baptist  minister  came  in  his  way  a  little  while  after, 
who  "had  never  joined  the  lodge,  and  considered  all 
secret  societies  at  variance  with  the  spirit  of  the  Gos- 
pel,1' Mark  began  with  considerable  hopefulness  to 
urge  upon  him  his  duly  as  a  Christian  minister  to  ex- 
press those  views  in  the  pulpit. 

UI  have  very  few  Masons  in  my  church;  I  could 
count  them  all  on  my  finger's  ends,"  said  the  Baptist 
pastor,  looking  a  trifle  disturbed  at  this  very  direct  ap-  • 
plication  of  his  principles.  "  It  would  hardly  be  worth 
the  while  for  me  to  leave  the  saving  doctrines  of  the 
Gospel  to  preach  on  a  side  issue." 

"You  acknowledge  that  Masonry  is  an  evil  thing," 
returned  the  severely  logical  Elder.  "  Then  if  you, 
have  one  Mason  in  your  congregation  his  soul  is  in 
danger,  and  you  can  no  more  neglect  to  warn  him 
without  incurring  guilt  than  if  there  were  fifty  or  a 
hundred." 

The  Baptist  minister  was  silent  for  a  moment  and 
then  answered  coldly: 

"  You  were  once  yourself  in  the  Masonic  order  I  un- 
derstand." 

"It  is  true  that  I  have  worn  the  mark  of  the  beast." 
quietly  answered  the  Elder,  and  for  a  short  time  I  ren- 
dered him  faithful  service.  But  Christ's  own  blood 
washed  away  that  mark  long  ago." 


366  HOLDEST  WITH   CORDS. 

"  Well,  everybody  has  his  own  ideas  of  duty,  Elder 
Stedman.  Now  for  my  part  I  couldn't  take  the  solemn 
obligations  that  are  required  of  all  who  become  Free- 
masons and  then  feel  right  to  break  them  afterwards. 
The  just  man,  we  are  told,  sweareth  to  his  own  hurt 
and  changes  not.  So  we  must  agree  to  differ  on  the 
other  question.  I  think  hobbies  should  be  kept  out  of 
the  pulpit — reform  hobbies  as  much  as  any." 

This  was  the  taunt  that  sent  Mark  under  his  juniper 
'tree — that  is  to  say,  into  his  plain,  bare  little  study, 
where  he  paced  back  and  forth  for  a  while,  his  whole 
soul  in  one  of  those  wild  tumults  to  which  only  the 
still,  small  voice  can  speak  peace.  But  the  earthquake 
and  the  whirlwind  must  go  before.  Where  he  had  a 
right  to  expect  understanding  and  sympathy,  he  had 
received  a  stone — nay,  worse;  a  stinging  scorpion. 
His  heart  writhed  under  the  injustice  and  cried  out  in 
the  bitterness  of  its  agony.  Why  must  he  ever  lead 
a  forlorn  hope?  Why  must  he  be  the  one  to  always 
stand  in  the  breach?  How  could  he  hope  to  batter 
down  this  grim  fortress  of  secret  iniquity  single-hand- 
ed? Had  he  not  been  very  jealous  for  the  Lord  God 
of  Hosts  when  every  pastor  around  him  was  either 
openly  committed  to  the  worship  of  Baal  or  preserving 
a  cowardly  and  shameful  silence?  Surely  he  had 
battled  long  enough.  Death  seemed  better  than  life; 
an  ignominious  retreat  better  than  to  continue  a  hope- 
less struggle  with  the  church  and  the  world  against  him. 

But  God  never  leaves  his  servants  under  the  juniper 
tree  without  sending  an  angel  to  strengthen  them. 
And  even  now  his  angel  was  on  the  way  to  strengthen 
the  poor,  diseouraged  Elder  who,  to  spiritual  weakness, 
was  beginning  to  add  bodily  faiutness;  though  when 
there  came  a  tap  at  his  study  door,  which  he  took  for  a 
call  to  dinner,  he  only  answered : 


UN  DEE   THE   JUNIPER   TREE.  367 

"  I  think  I  won't  come  down  to-day,  Hannah." 

Hannah  was  used  to  her  husband's  frequent  seasons 
of  fasting,  and  it  did  not  strike  her  as  anything  un- 
usual, bo  she  only  replied:  4>  There  is  a  stranger  wait- 
ing below  who  wants  to  see  you.  He  didn't  give  me 
his  name.'1 

"  Tell  him  I  will  be  there  in  a  moment." 

As  soon  as  Hannah  closed  the  door  Mark  threw  him- 
self on  his  knees  and  tried  to  pray;  but  the  moment 
passed  in  a  wordless  trance  of  pain;  and,  rising,  he  went 
wearily  down  stairs  to  greet  his  unknown  visitor. 

That  the  rough-looking  stranger  in  blue  jean  trousers, 
tucked  into  very  muddy  boots,  who  shook  his  hand  with 
such  awkward  warmth,  was  just  as  divinely  appointed 
to  bring  him  help  and  comfort  as  any  angelic  messenger 
that  ever  appeared  to  patriarch  or  prophet  in  the  Old 
Testament  times,  was  an  idea  that  never  dawned  in 
even  the  most  indistinct  fashion  on  the  Elder's  mind. 

"  I'm  glad  ye  didn't  get  no  hurt  the  other  night,  par- 
son," was  the  first  greeting  of  the  unknown. 

"  Thank  you,  my  friend."  replied  the  Elder.  u  The 
Lord  is  truly  a  shield  and  buckler  to  them  that  fear  him." 

"  Well,  I  went  fifteen  miles  to  hear  that  lecture,  and 
I  tell  you,  parson,  I  was  just  thundering  mad  at  the  way 
you  showed  us  up;  so  I  was  as  ready  as  any  on  'em  to 
boar  my  part  when  the  rumpus  begun.  But  you  had  a 
kind  of  look  as  you  stood  there  with  the  rotten  eggs 
flying  about  that  made  me  think  of  my  old  Methodist 
mother  when  dad  used  to  curse  and  swear  at  her  about 
her  religion  and  threaten  all  kinds  of  things  if  she 
didn't  leave  off  her  singing  and  praying.  And  arter 
all  I  don't  know  but  I  was  more  glad  than  sorry  at 
your  getting  off  so  slick  when  that  chap  blew  out  the 
lights  and  left  us  groping  in  the  dark,  like  the  Syrian 
army  that  was  sentT  to  take  the  prophet  Elisha.  You 
see  I  stumbled  right  on  that  ar  passage  when  I  was 
hunting  up  the  eighth  chapter  of  Ezekiel.  I  was  bound 
to  find  out  if  there  was  really  anything  in  the  Bible 
about  Masonry;  and  for  all  it  was  two  o'clock  when  I 
got  home,  I  raked  up  the  fire  and  went  at  it.  And  I 


368  HOLDER  WITH  COEDS. 

tell  you,  parson,  that  ar  chapter  in  Ezekiel  is  a  stunner. 
It  just  knocked  me  flat  to  think  I'd  been  worshiping 
the  sun  like  any  heathen.  And  now  I've  come  out 
from  the  lodge  for  good  and  all.  I  don't  want  no  more 
of  it.  The  Lord  has  come  into  my  heart  and  taken  all 
the  Masonry  clean  out  of  me.  I  hate  it  worse'n  pizen, 
I  do;  and  now,  parson,  I  want  a  lecture  in  our  parts  as 
soon  as  you  can  come  and  give  one.  My  name  is  Tim- 
othy Bundy,  and  I  live  at  Bundy's  Flats,  just  over  the 
river.  Maybe  vou  know  the  place?" 

The  Elder  had  heard  of  Bundy's  Flats.  He  knew  it 
was  a  hard  locality,  but  at  that  moment  though  a  legion 
of  devils  had  beset  his  way  he  would  have  gone  all  the 
same.  Surely  God  had  spread  a  table  for  him  in  the 
desert  and  riven  the  rock  at  his  need,  and  his  fainting, 
discouraged  soul  mounted  up  as  on  eagle's' wings  in 
exulting  triumph  over  all  the  powers  of  earth  and  hell. 

It  is  in  the  fiery  furnace  that  a  form  appears  like  the 
Son  of  Man.  Scorn,  contempt,  persecution,  still  beset 
the  Elder's  path,  and  he  saw  no  reason  to  hope  for  any- 
thing else  till  he  reached  the  end  of  his  mortal  journey. 
But  a  spirit  of  divine  joy  in  doing  and  suffering  for  the 
grand  eternal  cause  of  Truth  just  as  long  as  that  cause 
needed  him,  now  possessed  his  soul.  Was  it  not  an 
earnest  of  victory  that  he  had  been  allowed  to  convert 
even  one  soul  from  the  worship  of  Baal  to  serve  the 
only  living  and  true  God? 

"'Praise"  the  Lord,  Mr.  Bundy,  for  bringing  you  out 
of  darkness  into  his  marvelous  light,"  he  said,  as  he 
grasped  the  stranger's  rough  hand.  UI  will  gladly 
give  a  lecture  in  your  place  at  any  time  you  may  set." 

And  having  consented  to  an  arrangement  for  Friday 
night  of  the  following  week  and  seen  his  visitor  off,  the 
Elder  rose  up  from  under  his  juniper  tree  and  did  the 
most  sensible  thing  he  could  do,  which,  we  are  told,  was 
the  course  followed  by  Elijah  in  somewhat  similar  cir- 
cumstances— he  did  eab  and  drink. 


CHAPTER  XXXIX. 

A  FORETASTE. 

'R.  TIMOTHY  BUNDY  was  a  specimen 
of  a  particular  class  of  men  once  com- 
mon in  Ohio  and  the  bordering  States. 
He  had  been  a  hunter  and  trapper  in  his 
youth,  \vas  of  Herculean  frame  and  cor- 
responding strength,  and  there  was  a  legend 
current  in  the  lodge  that  he  had  proved  a 
very  troublesome  member  to  initiate,  for  in- 
stead of  allowing  himself  to  be  knocked  down 
quietly  and  buried  in  due  form  under  a  pile  of  rubbish 
at  the  east  gate  of  Solomon's  Temple,  he  had  taken  the 
farce  for  a  literal  attack  and  pitched  his  assailants  right 
and  left  to  the  imminent  danger  of  breaking  their  bones. 
Elder  Stedman  fulfilled  his  appointment  and  lectured 
at  Bundy's  Flats,  to  a  small  but  more  quiet  and  well- 
behaved  audience  than  he  had  any  reason  to  expect 
after  his  late  experience  at  Quipaw,  which  was  in  com- 
parison quite  a  center  of  civilization  and  refinement. 
But  truth  often  has  the  freest  course  in  seemingly  most 
unpromising  places,  and  nowhere  were  the  Elder's 
labors  more  signally  blessed  of  the  Lord  than  at  Bundy's 
Flats.  The  two  dollars  given  him  at  the  close  of  the 
lecture  was  certainly  meagre  pay,  but  the  Elder  was 
satisfied.  Not  so  Mr.  Bundy,  who  took  him  aside  at 
parting  with  a  rather  mysterious  air. 

u  Now,,  parson,  I  want  to  tell  you  your  life  ain't  never 
safe.  One  month  ago  if  I  had  been  picked  ofit  by  the 
lodge  to  cut  your  throat,  I  should  have  done  it"  . 


370  BOLDEST  WITH   CORDS. 

This  revelation  did  not  startle  the  Elder.  He  knew 
too  well  what  a  terrible  power  the  oaths  of  the  lodge 
have  over  an  ignorant  and  blinded  conscience. 

"  Thank  the  Lord,  Mr.  Bundy,  that  he  has  given  you 
a  better  mincl,"  he  calmly  answered,  u  and  pray  that 
his  grace  may  work  the  same  blessed  change  in  others." 

UI  know  we  orter  pray  and  not  to  faint,  but  grace 
don't  do  its  work  all  in  aminit,  you'll  find.  Now,  par- 
son, this  ere  is  a  fust-rate  revolver,  brand  new,  and  I'm 
going  to  make  ye  a  present  of  it.  You  ain't  obleged 
to  let  it  be  known  you  kerry  one,  bem'  a  minister,  and 
you  ain't  obleged  to  use  it — I  mean  on  any  ornary 
occasion;  but  it's  a  good  plan  to  have  some  sich  thing 
about  ye  jest  for  a  scarecrow,  to  scare  off  folks  as  might 
want  to  meddle  with  ye  to  your  hurt  sometimes." 

The  Elder  remembered  Peter,  and  his  answer  to  this 
warm-hearted  but  ignorant  disciple  had  a  decided  savor 
of  mild  rebuke. 

"The  Lord  has  wonderfully  preserved  my  life  hitherto 
from  all  the  snares  evil  men  have  set  for  it,  and  would 
you  have  me  begin  to  distrust  him  now  by  relying  on 
anything  else  than  his  own  mighty  arm  for  protection? 
'Cursed  be  the  man  that  trusteth  in  man  and  maketh 
flesh  his  arm  and  departeth  from  the  Lord.' '' 

Mr.  Bundy  Stood  irresolute.  Almost  without  physi- 
cal fear  himself,  all  the  more  did  he  realize  the  dangers 
which  beset  the  Elder.  His  sudden  conversion  had 
generated  a  spiritual  force  and  fervor  that  had  as  yet 
developed  in  the  active  rather  than  the  passive  line  of 
direction,  for  like  most  men  of  his  peculiar  physique 
the  animal  in  him  having  the  start  to  begin  with,  was 
not  immediately  subdued  by  days  or  even  weeks  of  this 
new,  controlling  spiritual  force  which  had  arrested  him 
like  Saul  of  old,  "breathing  out  threatenings  and 
slaughter,"  and  bent  him  by  the  power  of  its  mighty 


A   FORETASTE.  371 

mysterious  will  to  confess  and  forsake  his  false  worship. 
Still  he  felt  a  strange  reverence  come  over  him  for  the 
meek  and  fearless  Elder.  Far  back  in  his  rough  boy- 
hood he  remembered  a  timid,  shrinking  woman  who, 
nerved  with  the  same  divine  courage,  had  patiently 
borne  threatening  and  abase  for  Christ's  sake;  and 
though  for  long  years  her  spirit  had  walked,  palm- 
crowned,  the  heights  of  Paradise,  Timothy  Bundy 
wiped  his  eyes  on  his  coat  sleeve  as  the  vision  passed 
before  him. 

"I  don't  know  but  you're  in  the  right  on  it,  parson." 
he  said,  finally,  laying  back  the  revolver  on  the  shelf. 
"Anyhow,  take  this,*'  and  he  pressed  some  bills  into 
the  Elder's  hand.  u  It  was  what  I've  been  saving  up 
to  pay  my  lodge  dues  with,  and  if  you  don't  need  it  for 
yourself  jest  take  it  to  help  on  the  work  in  some  place 
where  they  are  poorer  than  they  be  at  Bundy's  Flats." 

The  Elder  took  the  offering  with  a  heart  of  grateful 
joy.  To  him  there  was  a  peculiar  preciousness  in  this 
first  fruit  of  his  labor.  Gladly  should  it  all  be  laid  on 
Christ's  altar;  oh,  how  gladly! 

"  God  bless  you,  brother  Bundy,"  he  said,  u  and  fear 
not  what  man's  rage  can  do.  He  hath  preserved  me  in 
six  troubles;  yea,  in  seven  there  shall  no  evil  touch  me." 

The  Elder  rode  home  in  a  state  of  calm,  exultant 
happiness.  There  are  times  when  to  the  soul  of  every 
sufferer  for  God's  truth  he  gives  a  glimpse,  as  it  were, 
of  the  final  victory.  And  to  Elder  Stedman  came  an-« 
other  such  experience  of  joy  and  triumph  as  he  remem- 
bered having  once  before  when  the  shot  of  the  secret 
assassin  rang  through  the  still,  green  woods,  and  but 
for  the  hand  of  protecting  providence  would  have 
terminated  his  career  on  its  very  threshold.  The  years 
that  stretched  behind  lay  bathed  in  the  sunlight  of  di- 
vine goodness;  he  remembered  not  one  hard  place  in 


372  HOLDER  WITH  CORDS. 

his  pilgrimage,  no  Slough  of  Despond,  no  Hill  of 
Difficulty,  no  Valley  of  the  Shadow  of  Death.  And 
over  the  days  that  lay  before  glowed  that  same  mellow 
[ndian  summer  light.  Many  or  few,  what  mattered  it  ? 
Sooner  or  later  he  must  fall  in  this  strife  and  another 
take  his  place,  as  full  of  youthful  strength  and  ardor 
as  was  he  when  he  first  stepped  into  the  ranks.  But 
he  was  willing,  nay,  joyful,  to  die  on  the  field  with  no 
huzzas  of  victory  ringing  in  his  death-dulled  ears,  for 
only  a  little  while  and  the  end  would  surely  come  for 
which  the  whole  creation  groaneth  and  travaileth  in 
pain — the  end  of  every  wrong,  the  triumph  of  eternal 
right  in  the  world-wide  reign  of  the  Lamb.  Welcome 
persecution,  welcome  revilings,  welcome  the  martyr's 
crown  if  so  be  it  actually  glittered  for  him  over  those 
turbid  waters  that  rolled  so  dark  and  chill  this  side  of 
the  heavenly  Canaan!  Living  or  dying  he  was  more 
than  conqueror. 

The  Elder  roused  himself  from  his  reverie  and  spoke 
a  cheery  word  to  the  patient  steed  on  which  his  old 
love  of  animals  now  found  its  chief  outlet  and  center. 
The  intelligent  beast  responded  thereto  by  breaking 
into  a  brisk  trot,  probably  accelerated  by  certain  equine  < 
considerations  of  the  snug  stable  and  feed  of  oats 
waiting  for  him  at  his  journey's  end. 

But  the  Elder's  lecture  had  not  failed  to  rouse  the 
baser  elements  at  Bundy's  Plats  as  well  as  at  Quipaw 
Creek.  A  few  nights  afterwards  Mr.  Bundy  was  roused 
by  a  rap  at  his  door.  A  little  barefooted  child  stood 
without,  weeping  bitterly,  and  in  response  to  that 
•worthy  man's  astonished  inquiries,  sobbed  out: 

"  You  woix  t  let  them  do  anything  to  that  good  Elder, 
will  you,  Mr.  Bundy?  He  come  to  our  house  and 
talked  and  prayed  with  ma,  and  she  says  he  seemed  just 
like  one  of  the  angels  of  God,  only  when  she  said  so 
before  pa  it  made  him  swear." 

"  They  shan't  do  anything  to  him  if  I  know  it. 
Come  in.  Bub,  and  tell  me  what  you  mean,"  said  Mr. 
Bundy,  who  recognized  in  the  child  the  little  son  of  a 


A   FORETASTE.  373 

consumptive  woman  wno  lived  about  a  mile  away,  and 
whose  husband  was  both  a  Mason  and  a  hard  drinker. 

u  I  heard  pa  and  some  other  men  talking  about  the 
Elder,"  said  the  child  in  a  frightened  whisper.  "I  was 
in  bed  and  they  were  talking  and  drinking  down  below. 
And  they  said  such  awful  things  of  what  they  would 
do  if  they  should  catch  him  in  the  dark.  And  they  are 
going  to  burn  his  house  down,  Mr.  Bundy,  I  heard 
them  say  so.  I  kept  still  till  I  thought  they  were  gone 
and  then  I  jumped  out  of  bed  and  run  over  to  you;  I 
thought  you  could  stop  their  doing  it." 

"Now  look  here,  Bub,1'  said  Mr.  Bundy.  after  staring 
for  an  instant  at  the  wee  mite  who,  with  a  courage  be- 
yond his  years,  had  braved  all  the  terrors  of  the  dark- 
ness to  avert  the  danger  that  threatened  the  Elder. 
u  Here's  a  prime  turkey  I  shot  to-day.  I've  been  reck- 
oning to  send  it  to  your  ma.  Come  over  te-morrow 
and  you  can  have  it.  But  now  run  home,  sonny,  and 
get  into  bed  as  quick  as  you  can,  and  don't  forget  to 
say  your  prayers.  I  reckon  the  good  Lord  above  will 
take  care  of  the  Elder." 

The  child  departed  somewhat  comforted.  Mr.  Bundy 
hastily  dressed  himself,  drew  on  his  boots,  saddled  his 
horse  and  was  soon  galloping  through  the  night  with 
one  hope  in  his  heart — that  the  warning  had  not  come 
too  late  and  he  should  get  the  start  of  the  incendiaries. 

He  never  stopped  to  question,  as  one  ignorant  of  the 
nature  of  secret  organizations  would  be  very  likely  to, 
the  credibility  of  the  child's  warning;  whether  it  were 
not  possible  that  one  of  such  tender  years  might  have 
mistaken  the  real  tenor  of  the  talk  he  had  overheard. 
.A  man  who,  according. to  his  own  confession  to  the 
Elder  had  been  so  thoroughly  enslaved  in  conscience 
by  his  Masonic  obligations  that  he  would  have  taken 
human  life  at  the  command  of  his  superiors  and  thought 
he  was  only  doing  his  duty  was  not  very  likely  to  doubt 
the  existence  of  men  in  the  lodge  who  would  have  no 
scruple  about  committing  arson  at  a  similar  bidding. 

"  But  the  men  who  do  such  things  are  the  scum  of 
the  community  as  u  rule,1'  objects  one  of  those  would- 


374  fiOLDEK  WITH  CORDS. 

"be  defenders  of  the  lodge,  whose  name  is  legion,  and 
whose  sole  knowledge  of  the  Masonic  system  is  based 
on  whatever  fact  or  tiction  any  Mason  in  the  plenitude 
of  his  wisdom  may  kindly  vouchsafe  to  impart. 

Were  the  men  who  murdered  Morgan  the  scum  of' 
western  New  York?  Were  the  Ku-Klux  Klaus  with 
their  midnight  reign  of  desolation  and  terror  the 
scum  of  the  South?  And,  granted  this  assertion  to  be 
a  fact,  why  does  not  the  lodge  skim  off  a  little  of  the 
aforesaid  "scum"  by  denouncing  the  acts  and  expelling 
the  offenders ?  But,  instead,  it  elevated  Morgan's  mur- 
derers to  higher  honors  and  fraternized  with  the  secret 
orders  of  the  South,  their  hands  still  crimson  with  the 
blood  of  hapless  negroes  and  unoffending  Union  men. 

What  is  the  language  of  facts  like  these. 

It  is  true  that  in  the  present  case  a  drinking,  profane 
fellow,  who  had  as  little  regard  for  Lindley  Murray  as 
he  had  for  the  Ten  Commandments,  had  been  talked 
and  fuddled  by  his  fellows  of  the  lodge  into  thinking 
not  only  that  the  safety  of  the  craft  had  been  imper- 
illed by  the  Elder's  late  lecture,  but  also  that  it  was  an 
imperative  Masonic  duty  to  teach  him  a  lesson  on 
minding  his  own  business — a  subject  on  which  it  will 
be  remembered  that  the  lodge  had  remarkably  clear* 
ideas — and  that  he,  the  individual  above  mentioned 
could  do  the  job  more  scientifically  than  anybody  else. 

But  did  this  catspaw  for  lodge  iniquity  who,  though 
worthless  and  degraded,  was  no  fool,  undertake  such  a 
business  without  knowing  that  he  was  backed  up  by 
the  oaths  of  the  whole  fraternity,  ministers,  judges  and 
officers  of  the  law  not  excepted,  to  keep  his  crime  for- 
ever a  secret?  Then  where  should  the  responsibility, 
be  laid?  I  leave  it  to  the  honest,  candid  reader  who 
has  followed  me  in  my  story  thus  far,  to  say. 

It  was  a  night  partly  clear,  partly  cloudy,  with  a 
few  stars  peeping  out,  and  a  brisk  wind  blowing.  The 
elder  lived  about  a  mile  the  other  side  of  the  river  from 
Bundy's  Flats. 

Mr.  Bnndy  urged  his  horse  through  the  stream,  and, 
just  as  he  emerged  on  the  opposite  shore  a  tongue  of 


A   FORETASTE.  375 

flame  shot  up,  reddening  the  night  heavens.  It  was  in 
the  direction  the  Elder  livecj,  and  with  n  smothered  ex- 
clamation he  put  spurs  to  his  steed  and  dashed  forward 
towards  the  scene  of  the  conflagration. 

The  barn  had  caught  first.  The  Elder,  awakened  by 
the  glare  flashing  across  his  eyes,  and  not  conscious  as 
yet  that  the  same  insidious  foe  was  beginning  to 
wreathe  in  serpentine  rings  the  framework  of  the 
house  itself,  roused  his  sleeping  wife  and  rushed  out 
intent  on  rescuing,  if  possible,  the  faithful  horse  that 
had  borne  him  so  many  long  miles  in  his  Master's  ser- 
vice. But  it  was  too  late.  The  fire  had  made  too  great 
a  headway,  and  the  Elder  himself,  in  his  vain  attempt 
to  rescue  the  poor  animal,  ventured  too  far,  for  as  he 
turned  to  retreat,  driven  back  by  the  smoke  arid  flames, 
he  was  struck  by  a  timber  from  the  burning  building 
and  felled  to  the  ground. 

Rough  but  kindly  hands  instantly  dragged  him  to  a 
place  of  safety  and  dashed  cold  water  over  his  face  and 
hands.  Mr.  Bundy's  prompt  appearance  on  the  scene 
had  saved  the  Elder's  life,  but  none  of  his  worldly  pos- 
sessions beyond  a  few  valuables  hastily  snatched  from 
the  burning  house,  which  in  ten  minutes  was  one  sheet 
pi  hissing,  crackling  flame,  and  in  ten  more  a  smoulder- 
ing ruin. 

The  Elder's  injuries  proved  serious.  For  days  and 
weeks  it  seemed  to  himself  and  to  others  as  if  his  work 
on  earth  was  done.  But  he  rallied  slowly.  His  manner 
of  living,  temperate  as  an  anchorite's,  was  in  his  favor, 
and  when  spring  again  returned  he  was  lecturing  and 
preaching  with  all  his  old-time  zeal  and  not  a  whit 
profited  by  his  woful  experience. 

Nobody  doubted  that  Masonic  vengeance  had  fired 
his  buildings.  At  the  same  time  Mark  received  that 
meed  of  sympathy  so  freely  given  to  persecuted  reform- 
ers in  the  anti-slavery  times:  u  It  is  too  bad,  such  a 
s:ood  man  as  Elder  Stedman  is — but  why  can't  he  let 
Masonry  alone?" 


CHAPTER   XL. 

THE  VICTOKY  OVER  THE  BEAST. 

VERY  old,  and,  in  his  day,  unpopular 
reformer  has  thus  summed  up  his  per- 
sonal experience:  ''Persecuted  but  not 
forsaken,  cast  down  but  not  destroyed, 
chastened  but  not  killed;"  thus  epitom- 
izing for  all  future  ages  the  experience  of 
those  elect  souls  who  stand  out  from  among 
their  fellowmen  with  a  prophet's  commission 
of  rebuke  and  warning,  and  with  too  often  a 
prophet's  fate  of  being  misunderstood  and  rejected  by 
the  generation  to  whom  they  are  sent.  To  Mark  Sted- 
man  the  Apostle's  paradox  seemed  no  strange  thing. 
Ever  since  that  hour  of  bitter  discouragement  and  un~ 
looked  for  lifting  up  he  had  never  lost  the  consciousness 
of  a  victorious  divine  power  working  in  him  and 
through  him,  turning  sorrow  into  joy  and  defeat  into 
triumph,  and  making  his  pathway  always  radiant  with 
the  light  that  streams  from  the  Paradise  of  God.  But 
there  was  one  more  cup  of  trial  for  him  to  drink.  He 
had  seen  it  looming  dimly  in  the  distance  ever  since 
his  talk  with  Elder  Chadband — the  same  cup  which  has 
been  pressed  to  the  lips  of  many  a  devoted  servant  of 
God.  The  church  he  loved,  in  whose  service  he  had 
grown  gray,  was  about  to  cast  him  out,  and  for  no 
other  reason  than  because  he  loved  her  too  well  and 


THE   VICTORY   OVER  THE  BEAST.  377 

served  her  too  faithfully  to  tolerate  the  secret  iniquity 
she  cherished  in  her  bosom. 

"  The  fact  is,"  said  Mark,  when  Rachel  and  I,  having 
heard  some  hint  of  this  new  trouble,  rode  over  to  see 
him,  u  it  has  long  been  a  preconcerted  thing  between 
Elder  Chadband  and  some  other  members  of  the  con- 
ference to  expell  me  from  the  Methodist  church  if  they 
possibly  can.  And  now  they  think  the  time  is  ripe. 
The  charges  are  frivolous  and  unfounded,  but  they  will 
cast  me  out  whether  the  evidence  sustains  them  or  not. 
I  have  no  reason  to  expect  anything  else." 

u  Oh,  Mark!"  exclaimed  Rachel, indignantly;  **  when 
you  have  been  such  a  faithful  shepherd  of  souls,  a 
preacher  after  Wesley's  own  heart,  instant  in  season 
and  out  of  season;  never  thinking  of  gain  or  ease  like 
others — now  to  turn  round  and  kick  you  out  of  the 
ministry.  It  is  shameful,  abominable!" 

"I  think  I  shall  have  to  talk  to  you  as  I  do  to  good 
brother  Bundy,"  answered  Mark;  smiling  on  his  ex- 
cited sister.  "Ever  since  his  wonderful  conversion 
from  Masonry  to  Christ  he  has  stood  out  against  the 
threats  and  persecution  of  the  lodge  as  bold  as  a  lion. 
I  shall  never  forget  how  he  came  to  my  help  once  in 
the  sorest  soul  strait  I  ever  knew,  like  one  sent  of  God; 
or  how  nobly  he  has  stood  by  me  ever  since.  But  I 
must  confess  there  are  times  when  I  find  the  old  Adam 
in  him  very  troublesome,  and  the  late  action  of  the 
conference  has  stirred  him  up  to  such  a  degree  that  I 
could  hardly  talk  him  into  anything  like  calmness. 
He  is  a  genuine  son  of  thunder.  If  he  had  his  way  he 
would  call  down  fire  from  heaven  on  all  the  lodges  in 
the  land  and  burn  them  up  like  the  cities  of  the  plain. 
But  he  is  a  great,  grand,  large-hearted  disciple  never- 
theless." 

u  It  is  hard,"  said  the  Elder's  wife,  who  had   been  si- 


378  HOLDEK  WITH   COKDS. 

lent  hitherto;  "very  liard  that  Mark  should  be  turned 
out  of  the  ministry  in  his  old  age  for  the  crime  of  being 
too  faithful  to  souls.  And  I  must  say  that  at  first  I 
felt  a  good  deal  like  sister  Rachel.  I  couldn't  be 
reconciled.  But  now  I  feel  differently.  They  who 
would  live  godly  in  this  life  must  suffer  persecution. 
It  is  not  the  church  which  is  doing  all  this  to  Mark;  it 
is  that  terrible  spirit  of  anti-Christ  which  has  taken 
possession  of  the  church.  God  give  us  strength  to 
1  withstand  in  the  evil  day,  and  having  done  all  to 
stand.1" 

So  spoke  the  Elder's  wife,  who  had  not  forgotten  her 
girlhood's  terrible  experience  with  this  same  spirit  of 
the  lodge.  It  had  persecuted  her  father  to  his  death  in 
like  manner  as  it  was  now  persecuting  her  husband. 
But  this  plain-faced,  quiet-looking  woman  had  as  truly 
the  martyr's  seed  within  her  as  any  of  those  worthy 
women  of  old  times  who  receive  such  glowing  mention 
in  the  Epistle  to  the*  Hebrews. 

There  was  a  moment's  silence  and  then  the  conver- 
sation turned  to  family  matters,  for  only  the  week  be- 
fore the  last  of  our  home-birds  had  flown  in  a  mist  of 
white  muslin  and  orange  blossoms.  Anson  Lovejoy, 
though  a  staid,  elderly  man,  had  not  found  his  superior 
years  any  bar  to  winning  Grace.  And  thus  Rachel  and 
I  were  again  left — I  was  about  to  say  as  in  the  first  year 
of  our  married  life,  alone  with  each  other — but  there 
was  one  very  important  difference  in  the  fact  that  no 
lodge  oath  now  came  between  us  to  part  asunder  those 
whom  God  had  joined  together. 

But  as  Mark  and  I  stood  by  tha  open  door  talking 
over  the  matter  of  the  approaching  church  trial,  I  sud- 
denly noticed  how  aged  the  Elder  had  grown.  Yet 
never  had  he  seemed  more  like  the  Mark  of  old  times — 
with  the  intense  ideality  and  enthusiasm  that  had  once 


THE  VICTORY  OVER  THE  BEAST.  379 

led  him  such  a  fool's  chase  through  the  swamps  and 
fogbanks  of  error  when  he  mistook  a  deluding  ignis 
fatuus  for  the  guiding  star  of  truth — the  brave  loyalty, 
the  burning  devotion  that  had  characterized  his  first 
surrender  of  every  worldly  ambition  at  the  call  of 
Christ,  not  one  whit  abated,  he  was  the  same  Mark 
Stedman  who  sat  on  the  back  stoop,  in  the  glow  of  that 
far  away  spring  sunset,  when,  we  talked  together  about 
joining  the  lodge. 

"  It  has  been  a  hard  warfare,  Leander,"  he  said,  "  but 
I  would  not  wish  to  enter  Heaven  with  one  honorable 
scar  the  less.'' 

"  Well,  Mark,"  said  I,  "  T  must  say  I  don't  feel  easy 
at  the  risk  you  are  constantly  running.  There  is  an 
Old  Country  proverb  that  k  the  pitcher  that  goes  often 
to  the  well  gets  broken  at  last,'  and  in  spite  of  the  as- 
sertion lodge  men  sometimes  make  that  'they  have 
stopped  killing  since  Morgan's  day,'  I  know  the  last 
martyr  has  not  yet  been  sacrificed  to  the  implacable 
spirit  of  the  lodge." 

44  Well,  Leander,  I  have  always  said  that  if  the  cause 
of  truth  requires  the  sacrifice  of  my  life,  I  am  willing 
to  be  offered.  But  it  seems  to  me  that  I  already  see — 
whether  in  prophetic  hope  or  positive  reality  I  can 
hardly  tell — the  first  feeble  beginnings  of  a  great  re- 
form which  is  destined  to  sweep  the  church  and  nation. 
Intelligent  freemen  cannot  long  resist  conclusions 
forced  upon  them  as  they  have  so  lately  been  forced 
upon  the  people  of  Granby.  And  when  once  this 
question  is  carried  to  the  ballot  box,  the  lodge  will  see 
the  handwriting  on  the  wall." 

I  was  about  to  answer,  but  Mark  suddenly  turned 
pallid,  and  sinking  into  the  nearest  chair  covered  his 
face  for  a  moment  with  his  hands. 


380  HOLDEK  WITH  CORDS. 

'•  You  are  ill,"  I  said,  in  alarm.  But  Mark  only 
made  a  deprecatory  gesture. 

u  Don't  call  any  one.  Hannah  knows  nothing  of 
these  ill  turns  and  I  don't  care  to  have  her  know,  for  I 
think  they  are  some  after  result  of  the  accident  that 
happened  to  me  last  spring,  and  I  am  hoping  will  pass 
entirely  off  when  I  gain  my  full  health  and  strength. 
Thank  God  that  it  only  affected  my  body  and  not  my 
mind.  I  can  deliver  as  sturdy  blows  for  the  truth  as  I 
ever  did." 

I  was  not  quite  satisfied,  but  my  mind  was  too  fully 
possessed  by  other  fears  to  attach  much  importance  to 
a  passing  indisposition  which  he  himself  treated  so 
lightly,  knowing  as  I  did  that  he  had  gone  to  work 
long  before  his  health  was  entirely  recovered.  I  saw 
him  beset  by  mobs  or  waylaid  in  his  solitary  journey- 
ings;  but  I  did  not  see  that  his  brave,  noble  heart  was 
breaking  in  a  martyrdom  slower  but  not  less  sure  than 
if  the  'knife  or  the  bullet  of  the  secret  assassin  had 
been  permitted  to  wreak  their  deadly  vengeance. 

As  Mark  needed  me  for  a  witness  I  attended  the 
meeting  of  the  conference,  but  I  will  not  trouble  the 
reader  with  any  wearisome  details  of  the"  proceedings. 
Suffice  it  to  say  that  the  specifications  read  by  Elder 
Chadband  really  amounted  to  but  two: — u  Speaking  to 
the  injury  of  his  brother  ministers  and  neglecting  his 
proper  work  on  the  circuit  to  lecture  against  Masonry." 

To  these  charges  Mark  pleaded  not  guilty,  and  a 
cross-examination  of  witnesses  elicited  nothing  farther 
than  the  fact  that  on  several  occasions,  when  his  spirit- 
had  been  especially  stirred  within  him  by  the  lodge 
idolatry  of  some  of  the  leading  members  of  the  con- 
ference, he  had  denounced  them  freely  as  "  hireling 
shepherds  "  who  fed  not  the  flock,  and  consequently 
had  not  the  smallest  business  to  be  in  the  ministry  at 


THE  VICTORY   OVER  THE  BEAST.  381 

all.  As  to  neglecting  his  proper  work  to  lecture  on 
Masonry,  it  was  clearly  proved  that  he  had  held  on  an 
average  as  many  preaching  services  as  any  other  mem- 
ber of  the  conference;  and  it  was  also  clearly  proved 
that  the  leading  prosecutor,  Elder  Chadband  himself, 
had  been  known  more  than  once  to  neglect  his  regular 
ministerial  work  to  participate  in  the  ceremonies  at 
some  Masonic  gathering.  But  what  avails  innocence 
against  inquisitorial  power?  They  could  tolerate  no 
longer  the  rebuke  of  Mark's  presence  among  them,  and 
were  bound  to  cast  him  out.  or,  to  use  Elder  Chad  band's 
expression,  "put  him  where  he  could  do  the  least  harm.11 

Mark  had  no  counsel  and  made  his  own  defense  be- 
fore the  conference. 

"  Brethren,"  he  said,  "  I  stand  among  you  accused  of 
serious  offenses,  which  the  witness  against  me  has  ut- 
terly failed  to  prove.  You,  in  your  secret  hearts,  know 
that  the  real  ground  of  the  accusation  is  my  uncom- 
promising hostility  to  Freemasonry.  That  hostility 
will  never  abate.  It  will  only  grow  stronger  with  every 
breath  I  draw.  I  boldly  declare  that  the  Rules  of  Dis- 
cipline faithfully  carried  out  would  expell  ev*ry  Ma- 
sonic pastor  in  this  conference.  There  are  no  less  than 
sixty-nine  different  oaths  in  the  first  seven  degrees  of 
Masonry.  And  this,  in  the  face  of  that  part  of  the 
Discipline  which  forbids  4all  v.iin  and  rash  swearing,' 
and  any  taking  of  oaths  'save  when  the  magistrate 
may  require  in  a  cause  of  faith  and  charity,  so  it  be 
done  according  to  the  prophet's  teaching  in  justice, 
judgment  and  truth.'  Is  there  justice,  judgment  or 
truth  in  these  obligations  with  their  fiendish  penalties, 
their  terrible  trifling  with  Jehovah's  name? 

"  I  charge  Masonic  pastors  ever}7where  with  the  sin 
of  Balaam.  They  cause  God's  people  to  err,  they  deny 
the  Lord  that  bought  them,  and  will  surely,  unless  the 


382  HOLDER  WITH  CORDS. 

Spirit  of  the  Lord  leads  them  to  repentance,  bring  upon 
themselves  swift  destruction.  ;  Woe  be  unto  the  pas- 
tors that  destroy  and  scatter  the  sheep  of  my  pasture, 
saith  the  Lord.1  Shall  I,  by  keeping  silent,  incur  their 
doom?  Najr,  ten  thousand  times  better  be  shut  out 
not  only  from  the  Methodist  church  but  from  every 
church  in  the  land. 

"  I  have  offended  in  no  point  the  rules  of  the  Dis- 
cipline. I  have  ever  striven  to  go  in  and  out  among 
you  with  a  conscience  void  of  offense  and  in  a  spirit  of 
meekness  and  charity  towards  all  men.  The  Lord 
judge  between  us  and  lay  not  to  your  charge  the  sin  of 
casting  me  out  for  no  other  reason  than  because  I  re- 
fuse to  bow  the  knee  to  Baal." 

Mark  sat  down.  Once  more  he  had  flung  his  gage  of 
defiance  at  the  Beast. 

The  after  proceedings  did  not  seem  to  interest  him. 
He  sat  with  a  strange  look  on  his  face,  a  high  celestial 
expression,  as  of  one  who  had  fought  his  last  battle  and 
conquered  his  last  foe,  and  was  waiting  in  serene  silence 
the  moment  of  palms  and  shouts  of  victory,  and  lifting 
of  triumphal  gates. 

The  committee  retired  and  in  a  little  while  made 
their  report,  which  was  to  the  effect  that  they  had 
found  all  the  charges  against  Elder  Stedman  sustained 
and  therefore  adjudged  him  suspended  from  the  minis- 
try of  the  church  and  all  church  privileges. 

The  Elder  started  up  as  if  to  rise  and  speak,  but  sank 
back  in  his  chair  with  a  groan.  The  medical  man  who 
was  hastily  summoned  coulct  do  nothing  more  than 
pronounce  his  verdict — a  case  of  heart  trouble  induced 
by  the  accident  which  befell  him  on  the  night  of  the 
fire  and  suddenly  developed  to  a  fatal  result  by  the  ex- 
citement attending  the  trial. 

Mark  Stedman  had  borne  his  last  testimony  against 


THE  VICTORY  OVER  THE   BEAST. 

the  lodge.     Shut  out  from  the  church  militant  he  had 
entered  the  ranks  of  the  church  triumphant. 

"And  I  saw  as  it  were  a  sea  of  glass  mingled  with 
fire,  and  them  that  had  gotten  the  victory  over  the  beast, 
and  over  his  image,  and  over  his  mark  arid  over  the  num- 
ber of  his  name,  stand  upon  the  sea  of  glass  having  the 
harps  of  God." 

My  story  is  ended.  It  is  the  experience  of  one  man 
and  must  necessarily  fail  in  giving  a  complete  picture 
of  that  terrible  secret  system  which  binds  men's  souls 
in  a  network  of  oaths  and  obligations  to  do — they  know 
not  what.  But  such  as  it  is  let  the  facts  here  given — 
for  they  are  facts  which  can  be  indisputably  proved — 
speak  for  themselves. 

Freemen  of  America,  I  appeal  to  you.  Will  you 
bow  your  necks  to  wear  the  yoke  of  the  Secret  Em- 
pire? or  will  you  waken  to  the  danger  before  it  is  too 
late?  It  has  no  respect  for  human  rights.  It  is  mon* 
archical,  despotic,  inquisitorial.  It  breathed  its  first 
breath  under  the  shadow  of  throned  corruption  and 
priestly  rule.  It  is  as  alien  to  the  principles  of  a  free 
republic  as  light  is  to  darkness.  And  on  you  depends 
the  question,  Which  shall  rule  this  fair  land,  the  few  or 
the  many;  the  spirit  of  caste  or  the  spirit  of  equality? 
The  weal  or  woe  of  future  generations  hinges  on  your 
answer. 

Churches  of  America,  God  has  a  controversy  with  his 
American  Zion.  In  your  npclst  is  a  horrible  thing — a 
gigantic  religious  system  which  ignores  his  Son  and 
proposes  to  do  the  Holy  Spirit's  work  of  regeneration 
for  men— a  system  as  dark,  cruel  and  unclean  in  its 
principles  and  teachings  as  the  ancient  Moloch,  toler- 
ated and  worshipped!  Christian  ministers  officiating 
at  its  altars,  wearing  its  dress  and  sounding  its  praises! 


384  HOLDEN   \\T1H 

Is  it  strange  that  the  ways  of  Zion  mourn?  that  the 
bright  gold  is  dimmed  and  tar^i^ecli'  The  Lord  our 
God  is  a  jealous  God.  He  will  not  give  his  glory  to 
another.  He  speaks  now  in  the  still,  small  voice  of 
warning  and  entreaty.  How  soon  he  may  speak  in  the 
whirlwinds  of  judgment  who  can  tell?  Before  it  be 
too  late  heed  His  voice  who  walketh  in  the  midst  of  the 
seven  golden  candlesticks.  u  Repent,  or  else  I  will 
come  quickly  and  will  fight  against  thee  with  the 
sword  of  my  mouth," 

Members  of  the  Masonic  order,  honest  men,  kin'l- 
hearted,  lovers  of  truth  and  justice — for  I  know  there 
are  many  such  among  you — who  secretly  loathe  the 
iron  yoke  of  your  slavery,  to  you  I  make  appeal.  As- 
sert your  God-given  manhood.  Deny  the  power  of  the 
lodge  to  bind  for  a  moment  what  He  has  forever  loosed. 
Your  country  needs  you,  but  she  wants  freemen,  not 
slaves.  God  needs  you  in  the  great  warfare  of  these 
latter  days  against  anti-Christ,  but  He 'wants  men  with 
the  martyr  spirit  who  have  overcome  the  Beast  through 
the  blood  of  the  Lamb  and  gained  the  victory  over  his 
mark. 

On  which  side  will  you  take  your  stand?  Will  you 
be  the  slaves  of  the  lodge,  HOLDEN  WITH  COEDS  of  se- 
cret iniquity,  or  Christ's  freemen?  The  issue  lies  be- 
fore you.  If  the  Lord  be  God  follow  him,  but  if  Baal 
then  follow  him. 

THE.  END. 


BOOK  is 


14  DAY  USE 

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